Part of the Family
by rrj2
Summary: My take on season 2.
1. Chapter 1

Volume 1: The Battle for John Young

Chapter 1

Jed appeared on John's screen.

"So, you've been tailing them for a few days now. What do you think?" Jed asked.

"Russell is a wildcard," John reported. "I can tell that Stephen and Cara want to like him again, but there is still a distance there. Russell is isolated and I think he'd be easier to engage first. If there are still trust issues, though, him joining us first might turn the others away from us."

"Stick with the original plan, then," Jed replied. "Talk to Cara first, though I suppose if you talk to Cara and Russell together, that'd still work."

"I'll head over there now. I'll be direct, open, and honest, just like we rehearsed. Are you sure you even want Russell?"

"Yeah."

"Roger's dead because of him."

"I'll use his guilt to convince him to join us. You should use their feelings to help you, too."

"That's my plan," John stated.

"Did they ever notice you?"

"No, I was able to mask my presence and my powers."

John noticed a look of trepidation on Jed's face.

"I'll be fine." John tried to assure Jed.

Jed nodded. "I'll be back in New York tonight. I should've had you come with me."

"It'll be fine, really."

John teleported to the roof of a building across the street from The Refuge and felt for Cara. After a few seconds, he finally found her.

" _Cara_ ," John thought.

In her office, Cara felt the thought and turned around. She saw the vague outline of someone, obviously the source, facing her. She teleported to the rooftop.

"John?" Cara said, shocked at the sight. She quickly approached John with her arms out for a hug.

"Hi, Cara. I've been told we know each other well."

John's statement stopped Cara cold. "What?"

"Jed told me that we have a long history. We protected the TPs in the lair and even dated for a while."

"Wait, I don't understand. 'Jed told you?'"

"I'm missing some memories," John simply stated. "Jed filled in the gaps that he could fill."

"How much is gone?"

"Six years worth. The last thing I remember was being a test subject for Annex. Then, I woke up last month at Jed's."

"You . . . Six years covers us, John. You were at Ultra six years ago."

"I was."

"You don't remember me at all, do you?"

"I only know what Jed has told me. I'm sorry. I realize this might be difficult," said John.

"'Might?'"

"Cara, I'm here now. Isn't that what's important?"

Cara nodded and hugged John, not caring that John wasn't hugging back.

"I'm taking us to my office. Are you ready?" Cara asked.

"Yes."

Cara and John reappeared in The Refuge.

"Wait here," Cara requested. "I'm going to get Stephen and Russell."

Cara marched to Stephen's office, and ran into Russell along the way.

"Come with me," Cara brusquely said.

"What's going on?" Stephen asked when Cara and Russell burst into his office. He saw the stunned look on Cara's face.

"John's back. He's in my office. I was right. He has powers. Jed's involved."

"That's awesome!" Russell said, heading back out.

Cara blocked him.

"Did he tell you where he's been the past month?" Stephen asked.

"Something's wrong," Cara said to Russell to stop him from leaving. "He doesn't remember us."

"What do you mean?" asked Russell.

"He said the last thing he remember is Annex. That was six years ago."

"When he was an Ultra agent?" Stephen asked. "When he worked here?"

Cara gestured to indicate that Russell and Stephen should proceed to her office. When they arrived, John was sitting, patiently waiting for them.

John stood up when he saw his former friends.

"John," Stephen said.

"Hey, buddy!" Russell said as he gently smacked John's left shoulder.

"Stephen, Russell," John acknowledged.

"You know who we are," Stephen realized.

"Jed has files on many of you."

"Jed got you your powers back?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah. I've never felt stronger."

"But you don't remember us," said Russell.

"It's okay," Stephen said. "If you let her, John, Cara can go into your mind. Together, the three of us might find a way to help you."

John stepped back. "Wait a minute. I'm not interested in getting my memories back."

"What?" Stephen and Cara asked simultaneously.

"Jed said I'm better off without them."

"And you believe him?" Cara asked.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"John, it's great to see you and we were all worried after you disappeared, but if you don't remember us and don't want to remember us, what are you doing here?" Stephen asked.

"I came to talk about what Jed's working on."

Russell rolled his eyes and Cara suddenly felt very uneasy.

Stephen crossed his arms.

"I thought things were better between you two now."

Stephen glared at John.

"It's a gray area," Cara quietly said.

"Where is he?" asked Steven. "I want to talk to him."

"He's in Los Angeles dismantling the last Ultra branch and getting new recruits."

"For what?" Russell asked.

"That's what I wanted to tell you. Jed wants to train TPs to work with the U.S. government. The term he used was 'paranormal super-soldiers.'"

"You've got to be kidding me," said Stephen.

"Cara, Russell, he wants you two to be his first recruits. At least, that was the plan until he came across a few old Ultra agents in L.A. that he wanted to hire"

"You want us to work with Ultra?" Cara asked.

"It's not Ultra anymore," replied John. "His new organization is a training center."

"And?" asked Stephen. "There's got to be more with Jed."

"He is keeping an eye out for TPs that cause trouble."

John noticed the disapproval on the faces of his former friends.

"There needs to be enforcement. We're going to stop TPs who use their powers in public or use their powers to harm," said John.

"But playing soldier is okay?" said Stephen.

"Missions with TPs would be very classified."

John realized he wasn't making progress.

"What are you going to do?" asked John. "Are you going to keep on housing TP refugees for the rest of your lives?"

"We're not working for Jed," Cara said. "Please go tell him that."

"Fine." John teleported away.

"Why did you just let him go?" Russell asked.

"He's not our John, anymore," Cara answered.

"He's an Ultra agent," Stephen asked.

"You're just going to give up on getting him back?" asked Russell.

"No, I do want our John back," said Cara. "We just need to be patient and work on it carefully."

"How?"

"However we do it," began Stephen, "we have to consider the fact that Jed will be prepared. I doubt he would have let John talk to us if he wasn't sure that he wouldn't lose him."

The next day, Stephen tracked down Jed's new office. He immediately saw a receptionist and a security guard, both presumably human.

"Hi, I'm Stephen Jameson. I'm looking for Jedikiah Price."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, sorry, but I'm his nephew. Could he find a few minutes for me?"

The receptionist conferred with Jed on the phone before returning to Stephen.

"Take an elevator to the top floor, then make a right until you get to the end. Dr. Price's office is the large one on the left."

"Thanks."

Stephen followed the instructions and upon arriving at the top floor, saw that Jed's new organization was slowly coming together. There were staff members who had already been hired, but there were also empty boxes and furniture that hadn't been set up yet. Stephen saw two large offices; the one to the left was occupied by Jed and the one to the right was occupied by John, currently on the phone. He approached Jed's.

"Hi, are you Stephen?" an assistant outside Jed's office asked.

"Yes, hi. What's your name?"

"Marcy. You can go right in."

"Thanks."

"Stephen," said Jed. "I heard yesterday didn't go so well with John."

"What did you expect?"

"Actually, that is what I expected. I told John it would take a couple more conversations."

"We're not going to work for you," said Stephen.

"So what are they all going to do, instead? How many refugees do you have there, Stephen? Are you going to provide for them all? Are they going to steal food when they get hungry? They need jobs. I can give them all jobs that will let them use their powers. In the meantime, I'll keep footing the bills."

"What?"

"Electricity? Water? Property taxes, eventually? Don't tell me you didn't think of that. Of Ultra's three legal partners, I'm the one who's still alive. The building belongs to me. I'm letting you stay there, utilities and taxes paid. The least you can do is let me talk to the TPs so they have options beyond the Refuge. Give me an audience with them."

Stephen remained stone-faced.

"This isn't Ultra. This is an organization that will help TPs. The TPs under your care should have a choice. Otherwise, it just seems like you're trying to contain and control them."

"Fine," Stephen said after a brief silence. "You have to bring John when you come and speak. And speaking of John, what did you do to him?"

"I just gave him his powers back."

"How?"

"I developed a serum based on your dad's DNA."

Stephen's mouth dropped.

"Don't judge me. You know very well that your dad and John had a history, and that your dad would approve of me using his DNA to help John, especially after what we did to him. I honored your dad by doing this."

"Does John know what you did to him when you were at Ultra?"

"Yes, I told him everything I could about the last six years, even the bad things."

"And why did you even have to do that?" Stephen asked with an edge in his voice.

"The memory loss was an unintended side effect. I couldn't prevent it."

"But you'll take advantage of it."

"If John wants his memories back, I will do everything in my power to help, though I did advise him against it."

"That's not your call."

"You're right. It's John's call, and right now, his call is to take my advice."

Stephen sighed. "Most of us at the Refuge have lunch together. Tomorrow would work if you want to come by with John. Noon. I'll give you five minutes."

"Thanks."

Stephen left and passed by two people. Jed moved to intercept them.

"Bethany, Jared, welcome," said Jed. "This is Marcy."

Marcy shook Bethany's and Jared's hands.

"Everyone here knows about TPs," said Jed. "You're free to use your powers here."

Jed led Jared and Bethany to John's office, just as the latter was ending his call.

"John Young, meet Bethany Mason and Jared Gonzales."

John shook their hands.

"They're from the old L.A. location." Jed said. "Bethany's particularly good at telekinesis and Jared is particularly good at telepathy. Having said that, they could benefit from additional training to be suited specifically for our work. John, that'll be your responsibility."

"Sure thing."

"You can start today, but give them some background first, and then a tour."

Word about John spread throughout the Refuge among those who knew him. The next day, Astrid made a point to contribute to the Refuge's lunch so she could join others in listening to Jed's pitch.

Jed arrived with John and the TPs and Astrid congregated in the lobby.

"Don't worry, I can hold back," Astrid quietly told Stephen. She stood at the back with Stephen.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Dr. Jedikiah Price, Stephen's uncle. This is John Young, whom some of you know."

Cara looked at Charlie besides her. They also stood at the back.

"Just be patient, Charlie. You'll get a chance to talk to John later," Cara quietly said.

"I have found a new organization dedicated to maintaining order and advancement among the Tomorrow People. We have two goals at our company. First, we police TPs. We make sure that no one is using their powers for illegal or hurtful purposes. We make sure that no one is using their powers publicly. That might mean our paths could cross if any of you wander into that territory, but I'm sure Stephen and Cara have their own similar rules. The second purpose is for Tomorrow People to serve as soldiers for the U.S. government. To that end, we focus on training Tomorrow People so they can learn to master their powers. We have a state-of-the-art facility nearby that we'd use so you all can reach your potential. I invite all of you to join us so you can have jobs, paid jobs. You get to see some of the world, too. If you just want to check out the place first, you're definitely welcome."

"Weren't you one of Ultra's heads?" someone asked.

"Yes, but I was working against the Founder the entire time. I know that I've done bad things nonetheless, but I'm trying to make it up to TPs now. This building here belongs to me. I'm letting you stay here for free and I'm paying the bills in that spirit."

"I heard you can make TPs kill. Are you going to do that to us?" a different person asked.

"No. Someone once suggested to me that there is a reason why Tomorrow People can't kill. What it does to your souls is irreparable. I'm not going to mess with mother nature on this one."

"How do we fight wars, then?" asked a third person.

"You'd be armed with stun guns. Let the homo sapiens handle the bullets."

"You're not even one of us," said a different TP.

"No, but I am an evolutionary biologist who understands the science of Tomorrow People. I've worked with many TPs before and trained them, including John here. My brother was a TP, along with my sister-in-law and nephew there. My other nephew will probably break out soon."

Jed caught a signal from Stephen to wrap up. "Well, I know you all have a lot of thinking to do. I'll let you get back to lunch. Thanks for listening."

Stephen approached Jed. "Actually, Uncle Jed, I'm sure these people still have questions. Maybe John could stay here and talk to them. They might feel more at ease with him."

"Sure, okay."

"I'll take you back to your office," said Stephen. "Are there D-chips there?"

"No. I told you, this isn't Ultra and everyone who works there knows about Tomorrow People."

Stephen teleported Jed back to his office.

"Russell is thinking about taking you up on your offer," Stephen said. "He'd like to make amends after betraying my dad, but he wasn't sure if you'd be willing to take him."

"I will take him so he can make up for it," replied Jed.

"I'm not joining you. Don't be push me on this."

"I wasn't going to ask," said Jed.

"What?"

"When John first visited, he only mentioned Cara and Russell, right? Are you complaining that I don't want you?"

"No, I'm just surprised."

"I am not putting myself in your mother's crosshairs again. I'd love for you to join, but it has to be your decision and none of mine."

Back at The Refuge, Cara broke John away from conversing with some TPs.

"John, this is Charlie. I assume Jed told you that you helped rescue her from Ultra, but there's no way he could have known how much you meant to Charlie."

"Hi, Charlie. I have definitely heard a little about you."

John and Charlie shook hands.

"Just a little?"

"Sorry, I don't know what happened in the lair between us," admitted John.

"You took care of me. You helped me when I was upset and when I couldn't control my powers. You were my mentor and the best friend I had there, John."

"That's not who I am anymore. I'm sorry, Charlie."

"Can't you try to restore your memory?" Disappointment was evident on Charlie's face and in her voice.

"I'm sorry. Everything's a lot more complicated than that."

"Okay. I understand." Charlie looked despondent and walked away.

John glared at Cara.

"You made her feel bad and unnecessarily," John told Cara. "Was that just to manipulate me?"

"No, she wanted to talk to you, John. You were important to her."

"John?" Astrid asked, approaching the pair.

"You're Astrid," John said. He looked back at Cara.

"Don't look at me," said Cara quietly. "She wanted to see you too and if you remembered her, you'd know she couldn't be stopped."

"Is this going to get awkward?" Astrid asked.

John sighed. "No, let's talk, but in private."

Astrid led John into an empty office.

"Are you going to try to change my mind?" John asked.

"I don't suppose that will do any good," responded Astrid.

John shook his head.

"I think I just want to know why you don't want to remember."

"I know those six years were difficult. I don't want to relive being hunted or being shot at. I know I was a prisoner at Ultra twice and that I've killed. Why would I want to remember that?"

"It wasn't all bad," said Astrid.

"I know. You're radiating feelings so strongly, it's difficult to not notice them."

"Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"It does, and I'm tempted to reach into your mind and relive our past through your memories, but it's a slippery slope. I'm sorry, but this will have to be another sacrifice in a long list."

"Is everything okay?" Stephen asked by the door. He noticed that Astrid had tears in her eyes.

Astrid left without saying anything.

"You have 18 new recruits," Stephen told John. "One is Russell, the others are new breakouts that you've never known. They'll need more training."

"We'll do a good job with that."

"There are also around two dozen more people who are undecided."

John handed Stephen a small stack of business cards.

"They can call me anytime if they want to discuss it further," said John.

While Stephen consoled Astrid, John returned to the lobby, where the 18 new recruits were standing by the door.

"Are you all set?" John asked them.

"We're good," Russell answered. "What's the best way to get there?"

"Just hold hands and focus on me. All of you, open your minds to me."

Everyone did as John instructed. John then put a hand on one of the recruits' shoulders and the nineteen TPs disappeared.

Stephen later sought out Lorne, the TP who questioned Jed's history with Ultra.

"Nice job putting Jed on the spot there," Stephen told Lorne.

"I'm just concerned that he's going to end up resurrecting Ultra, and with the government's support."

"We all are. We do need to be careful."

John later visited Jed in his office.

"Everyone's settled. They have their ID badges, too," said John,

"Good. The rest of the recruits from L.A. will arrive tomorrow night. And you were right. Russell is a wildcard."

"He's here to spy on us, isn't he?"

"Yes. They probably got that idea from you. Let him play the spy. He'll report back that everything is legitimate. Then, we'll get more recruits."

"That means Russell would be here, instead of the field. Are you going to be okay with that?"

"I can make peace with it for a little while," Jedikiah said. "I waited years to have you back with me. I can wait a little while for everything to play out as needed."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Of the thirty-four recruits from the Refuge and from Los Angeles and four new breakouts, John and Jed deemed twenty ready for simulations. They set up mock war zones and assigned two teams to compete against each other. John closely monitored the training exercise.

"Russell," Jedikiah loudly called, pulling Russell away. "Let's talk."

Jed and Russell walked down a corridor.

"What's up?" Russell asked.

"I'd like you to take the lead in training the other eighteen recruits and maybe later on, the more breakouts that will come our way."

"Thanks, but don't you want your former Ultra agents doing that?"

"My contacts want to see some results. I'll need my former agents to show off. While your skills are impressive, I think you'd be better suited for training."

"All right. I can do that."

"I can tell you have a rapport with a lot of the recruits. You should go back and finish the war game, first."

Russell acknowledged the cue to leave, but stopped Jed as the latter was stepping away.

"Hey, Jed, I realize we haven't had much contact the past month I've been here, and part of that is because of me wanting to keep my distance," Russell said.

"And part of that is me wanting to keep my distance, too," Jed interrupted.

"I . . . uh, I just wanted to thank you for hiring me. Things haven't been the same between me and Cara and Stephen, and this was good. I know I owe you big time after what I did."

"You owe John, too," Jed pointed out. "You undermined his sacrifice."

Russell grimaced slightly. "I know."

"I can't even imagine what the Founder did to John, in addition to removing his powers. I'll bet it was inhumane. Did he ever tell you?"

"No, I knew he didn't want to talk about it," Russell answered.

"For his sake, it's a good thing he doesn't remember, then, hmm?"

"Yeah," replied Russell.

"I'm glad you agree."

Later, Jed called Bethany and Paul, a Los Angeles recruit, to his office.

"John identified a Tomorrow Person here," Jed said, pointing to a map. "He's a relatively new breakout and he's new to the area. I'd like to make a new recruit out of him."

"That's a crowded place," Bethany pointed out.

"That's why I'm sending you two. You know the drill."

Bethany and Paul teleported to an alley and walked to a shopping center, looking for the TP.

Paul noticed a young man use his telekinesis to make someone trip. The young man helped his victim up while stealing a wallet.

"That's him," Paul said.

Paul and Bethany approached the TP slowly and cautiously.

The TP suddenly noticed them and picked up his pace and turned into an alley. There, he ran into Stephen and Cara.

"Hi, there," Cara said.

"What's your name?" Stephen asked.

Paul and Bethany caught up and heard Cara's question.

" _Rich_ ," the TP thought.

"Rich," Cara said.

"Yeah, that's right," Stephen said. "We can read minds just like you, and we can do more than that, can't we?"

"Don't be afraid of us," Cara assured. "We're just like you."

"I thought I was alone," said Rich.

"You're not," Bethany finally said. "Come with us, Rich. You'll have a place with us."

"Or you can come with us," Stephen interjected, the annoyance in his voice clear.

"Rich is a thief," Paul pointed out. "He's been using his powers in public to steal wallets. We get him."

"So you can do what? Strip his powers?" Cara asked. "Does Jed still do that?"

"The agreement was to let us be an enforcement body," Bethany said.

"Actually, the only thing we agreed on was to let Jed recruit TPs from the Refuge," Stephen countered.

"So let us recruit him from the street, then," Paul replied.

"How about I just not go with any of you?" Rich said, before running off.

As the four continued to argue over Rich and looking for him, Jed noticed the TP activity.

"John?" Jed called loudly. He waved at John in his office.

John immediately teleported over.

"I sent Bethany and Paul to handle a TP. There's a signal indicating the arrival of more TPs."

"Stephen's group?" asked John.

"That's what I'm guessing. We've finally crossed paths. Can you take us there?"

John grabbed one of Jed's shoulders and teleported to the shopping center. In a split-second, Jed saw people around him and panicked, fearing that John had teleported them into a crowd. Before he could react, he felt himself zipping through the air into an alley, where his agents, Stephen, and Cara caught up with Rich. He realized that he hadn't materialized yet until he stopped moving.

"John," Cara said quietly.

Jed took a moment to regain his composure.

"More of us?" Rich asked.

"I'm John. I am a Tomorrow Person," John replied. "This is Dr. Jedekiah Price. He's not, but he can help you. You're Rich?"

"We can help, too," Stephen said. "As I was telling your agents, the best place for Rich is at the Refuge. We can train him and set him straight about Tomorrow Person rules. He doesn't deserve to go into your hands."

"'Deserve?'" Jed questioned. "You act like this is Ultra. We aren't the bad guy, Stephen. Rich won't be our prisoner, just like he won't be yours, right? He has a choice."

"You all really need to stop talking about me like I'm not here," Rich said.

Jed looked directly into Rich's eyes.

"Rich, like John said, I'm Dr. Price. I run an organization that trains paranormal people like yourselves to become soldiers for the U.S. government. At the same time, my organization also polices paranormal activity. You can join us if you can prove to me that you can stop using your powers in public and against others."

"And if he can't?" Cara asked icily.

"I'll inject you with a serum that will remove your powers permanently. That's how we police you. Were you not expecting consequences for crimes?"

Cara and Stephen looked surprised by Jed's frankness.

"Stephen? Cara? Would you like to give your sales pitch?" asked Jed.

"We have a refuge full of Tomorrow People," Cara said. "We live and train together. We're a big family. And we're not going to strip your powers."

"You'll have to do something if Rich doesn't stop stealing," Bethany claimed.

"We have a very welcoming place," Cara said. "They have a business."

"A business that pays you to use your powers," countered Jed. "It's your choice, Rich, and it doesn't have to be a binding or permanent choice. You can go to the Refuge if you're unhappy with me."

Rich turned to Jed. "If I have a job, I won't need to steal. I'll go with you."

Jed smiled. "Good choice. Stephen, Cara, do you want to force him into the Refuge?"

Stephen shook his head.

"No," Cara said quietly.

"Here we go," Bethany said. She wrapped an arm around Rich and teleported away with him.

Paul also teleported away.

"John?" Cara said. She saw John about to teleport with Jed.

John and Jed both looked back at Cara, waiting for her to continue.

"You are very important to me," Cara finally said. "I'm not giving up."

John and Jed teleported away.

"That was pathetic," Cara remarked to Stephen. "I didn't know what to say, and I don't know what to do."

"I know," Stephen responded. "I don't know how to handle this, either, but we'll think of something. I'm not giving up, either."

John and Jed returned to Jed's office.

"How did you do that?" Jed asked.

"Do what?"

"When we arrived at Cornerstone Plaza, we didn't materialize immediately. We traveled before we materialized."

"It's just something I started to do when I'm in a rush so I don't have to spend time looking for empty places. I just zero in after I see the area."

"I have never heard of that before," said Jed.

"There's a brief moment between dematerialization and materialization. I just hold onto that moment. I can do a lot in that state without anyone seeing."

"That's impressive. I'm proud of you."

John smiled. "You say that a lot."

"And I mean it every single time."

Russell knocked on the door.

"Come in," Jed said.

"Hey, John," said Russell. "Jed."

"Hi, Russell," replied John.

Jed exchanged a look with John and John teleported back to his office.

"Bethany suggested that I drop by," Russell said.

"Yes, good idea. Have you met Rich yet?"

"Yeah, I talked to him for a second before Bethany took him to HR."

"He was caught stealing, but he told me that he wouldn't have to steal if he worked here. I need you to keep an eye on him, see if he's genuine."

"Okay," Russell responded.

"Talk to him about what he can expect here. Help him decide if he wants to go abroad or stay here."

"If he does keep on stealing, are you going to take his powers away?"

"Yes. He doesn't deserve his powers and he's endangering all Tomorrow People."

"Man," exclaimed Russell.

"I'm optimistic. People do change. You did."

"Yeah, I did," admitted Russell.

"It's probably a good thing that no one here knows or remembers who you were. Did you get a sense of how much control Rich has over his powers?"

"He could definitely use some hands-on training."

"That'll be your job."

That night, Russell returned to the Refuge to have dinner with Stephen, Cara, and Irene.

"How's John doing?" Irene asked.

"Fine, probably. I heard he's doing a lot of cool stuff, but Jed tries to keep us apart so I don't talk to him much."

"I've been going over neurological models to determine how the addition of powers could affect someone's memories, but it's hard to grasp all of this when I don't have real data."

"Could you do something if you had John's charts?" Stephen asked.

"It's no guarantee, but it'd help. What are you thinking?"

"We're talking about Jed here," Stephen said. "I have no doubt that he's been keeping tabs on John's health. He probably has John scanned regularly and he probably keeps those scans in his office."

"You want to break in," Cara realized.

"Yeah," Stephen replied. "Russell, does that sound like something you can do?"

"I haven't seen d-chips anywhere. Jed is really running a different organization now."

"Do you trust him?" Cara asked.

"I think he's genuinely trying to help and keep order," Russell said, "but I wouldn't say I trust him."

"Good call," Cara said. "I was concerned that our confrontation with his agents was going to get violent. I'm worried violence will be inevitable."

"We need to make sure that our people won't do things that attract their attention," Irene pointed out.

"We can't just give in to Jed!" responded Russell.

"There are other reasons to stay private and stay legal," said Cara.

"This goes beyond Jed, anyway," Stephen said. "Russell, you mentioned that 20 people are doing advanced training and now 22 are doing basic training. How many are assigned to policing TPs locally?"

"The 20 in advanced training, plus John. Sometimes, they've been going out with the less-experienced TPs so they get field experience. I think when Jed sends the 20 out to the U.S. government, the next group will take their place."

"Some of those are our friends and former building-mates," said Stephen. "Let's not put them in an awkward position."

"Anything else we should know?" Cara asked Russell.

"Jed's developed a dart that has some d-chip technology embedded so an agent can suppress powers from a distance. If a TP gets hit, their abilities weaken a lot."

"Permanently?" Cara asked.

"No, only until the dart gets removed. It has a very small range."

A few nights later, Russell again returned to the Refuge after dinner.

"How are things going over there?" Cara asked.

"Fine," Russell answered. "A few military guys are coming in tomorrow to see Jed's work."

"Any luck with John's scans?" Stephen asked.

"No, it's been busy there and people are always around," answered Russell.

"Even late at night?" asked Cara.

"I'm also making sure it's safe, first."

"I thought you said you didn't see any d-chips," Cara recalled.

"I . . . just want to make sure."

"Russell, what's wrong?" Stephen asked.

Russell sighed. "Nothing's wrong."

"Russell?" Cara asked.

"I just need a little more time, that's all."

"You haven't been the same lately," Stephen stated. "Is Jed getting to you?"

"You've been like this for much longer than that," Cara pointed out.

"I'll never forgive myself for betraying Roger," Russell finally admitted. "I am trying my best to make it up to you, Stephen, because you haven't looked at me the same since then. You all have been like a second family to me and I won't let you down, but a part of me wants to make it up to Jed and John, too. Jed lost his brother and John lost a friend. And if John didn't lose his powers, he wouldn't have lost his memories."

"So make it up to him," Cara said. "You can help make things right."

"How are things here?" Russell asked.

"Our numbers are growing slightly, even with Jed getting some of new breakouts. We're having a good amount of luck getting the older ones jobs and the younger ones into schools."

Russell nodded. "I should go."

"Keep us updated," Stephen said.

"I will." Russell teleported away to work, arriving at the top floor. He watched a TP named Derek teleport out, leaving Russell alone. Russell rushed to Marcy's desk and began rummaging around.

In another part of the city, located away from the urban atmosphere, a group of TPs prepared to sleep in an abandoned and foreclosed home.

Someone teleported in. "Natalie?"

"Silas?"

"Yeah."

"What did you find out?"

"I have confirmation that John is missing six years of his memories. He doesn't remember the lair at all. I heard Stephen, Irene, Cara, and Russell talking about it."

"Good. What about his powers?"

"I don't have absolute confirmation, but I'm pretty sure that he has become extremely powerful. I heard other people saying that he could be the most powerful one of us. They aren't reliable sources, but that information has to come from somewhere."

"Do you think we should proceed?" Natalie asked.

"Not yet," a third person said.

"Why not?" asked Natalie.

"I was wrong about propranolol. It's mostly used for the circulatory system. There are studies being done on its effects on memory, but nothing substantial has been found."

"Look for an alternative," Natalie ordered. "We need to be absolutely sure that we give John will wipe the rest of his memory. Do it quickly. If what Silas says is true, John might be able to fend us off soon. Besides, I'm tired of living like this. I want my personal weapon already."

Russell teleported to the roof of a building across the street from Jed's and John's apartment. He found the address at Marcy's desk.

" _John!_ " Russell broadcast in thought, as strongly as he could. " _John!_ "

" _What?_ " John finally responded.

" _I'm across the street. Any chance we could talk without Jed knowing about it?_ "

John appeared a few seconds later. "What do you want to talk about?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"So, how've you been?" Russell asked John.

John raised an eyebrow. "Fine."

"Good, good."

Russell nodded a couple times while John waited for the conversation to go somewhere.

"We don't see each other much at work," Russell pointed out.

"You have your hands full with training. I'm busy with my own responsibilities."

"Did Jed ever tell you that we were really good friends?" Russell asked.

"Yes."

"You were there for me when my father died. Jed probably didn't know that, so he wouldn't have told you."

"No, this is news to me," John replied.

"You joined me on my trip to the funeral, all the way to Oregon. You had my back in a bar fight. It meant a lot to me. We were best friends, man."

"I'm glad you had someone with you through that," said John. "I honestly am."

"I had you," Russell said. He held out his hands. "Let me show you what you did for me."

John hesitated.

"You did a really good thing, John. Don't you want to remember it?"

"No," John answered. He looked back at his apartment.

"I'm giving you a chance to know what happened."

"Your account was enough."

"Fine," Russell said as he realized that he was losing John's interest and probably his patience. "Hey, did Jed ever tell you what I did to Roger? And what happened to you before that?"

"Yeah, he did. It was bound to come up."

"Well, I'm sorry about that."

"Thanks, but Roger's the one you should be apologizing to, and you can't do that."

"I know," Russell said. "This is the best I can do. Jed said that I undermined your sacrifice."

"That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is how one of my friends was betrayed and again, that's not something to take up with me. Anyway, I have a long day tomorrow."

Russell groaned. "Really?'

"Yes."

"Any chance you can keep this conversation between us?"

"Probably," John answered. "I won't lie to Jed, but it's not like he's going to be asking about this. And Russell, I understand that we meant plenty to each other and I sympathize with what you must be feeling now, but friendships end all time. You, Stephen, and Cara need to accept that I'm a different person now."

"You don't have to be."

"I want to be. I like who I am and where I am." John teleported home.

"All right," Russell quietly said to himself.

The next day, Jed and John waited for two entourages from the Army and the Marines.

"What is it?" John asked. "Something's been distracting you."

"I found Morgan."

A large group entered the building.

"General Acolito, General Reynolds, thank you so much for coming in," said Jed. "This is John Young, my deputy."

General Reynolds shook John's hand. "Yes, Senator Kelsey told me about you. Pleasure to meet you."

Jed and John led the generals and their assistants to a training room.

"As you would expect, we have Tomorrow People at differing skill levels. We've grouped the experts together against the relative novices," Jed said.

Everyone watched as Bethany led her squad against a group led by Rich. Bethany's team took several minutes to claim victory.

"Imagine how much more quickly this would have ended against normal humans," said Jed.

The Tomorrow People ran through a second simulation to demonstrate their training, this time with the teams being more evenly matched.

Elsewhere, Lorne teleported from the Refuge to a shopping center. He used his telekinesis to start stealing food and putting them into a bag.

Jed and John briefed the generals and their assistants on staff in a conference room.

"These are Bethany Mason, Jared Gonzales, Dan Chen, and Eva Bell," said John, pointing to four pictures on a screen. "They worked at the precursor to this organization and are highly skilled. They would be your strongest assets. Everyone else on your list is also approved by Dr. Price for field work, though we would recommend having any of these four call the shots within the Tomorrow People. It's because of them and other former Ultra agents that Dr. Price has been able to prepare a team ahead of schedule."

"And what about you?" General Acolito said. "Senator Kelsey said you were the first prototype. He said you left an impression."

"John will stay here," Jed said.

"Excuse me, Mr. Young, for talking about you like you're not here," General Acolito said, "but Dr. Price, I was under the impression that as the prototype, Mr. Young would have more training and more preparation than those who came after. I understand he also worked for Ultra."

"Yes, you are correct. However, and to be blunt, I was given full authority over staffing. John's place is here. We do have domestic operations and I want my best agent on them."

It was evident that the generals did not agree.

"I am handing over to you two dozen powerful and well-trained Tomorrow People. Let me keep one to myself," Jed said, smiling.

Someone knocked on the door and opened it.

"Yes, Alexis?" Jed said.

"We might have a local issue that requires our attention."

"John, would you handle this, please?" Jed requested.

John and Alexis walked towards an interface room with ALICE.

"We have a Tomorrow Person stealing food. A security camera caught him, but ALICE wiped the data. This guy is proficient and our scans indicate that he's still going."

"I think I know him. I'll send someone. Thanks."

John contacted Bethany and Dan and they soon arrived in the shopping center.

"See him yet?" Dan asked Bethany while they were scanning the area.

Lorne suddenly bumped into Bethany and dropped some of the food he carried. His mouth dropped when he saw Jed's agents and ran.

" _Stephen! Cara!_ " Lorne broadcast as loud as he could while being chased.

" _I'm here!_ " Cara soon thought. " _Take the next alley on your left._ "

Just as Stephen arrived in the alley, Lorne was hit by a modified dart. Lorne stumbled, but made it into the alley.

Lorne tried to pull the dart out, but found he couldn't reach it on his back. "Something's on my back. It's messing up my powers."

Stephen and Cara approached to help Lorne, but Bethany and Dan caught up.

"Hey!" Dan yelled. "You're not going anywhere."

Cara pulled out the dart. "We're going back to the Refuge."

"He's been stealing and using his powers in public," Bethany claimed. "That means he's coming with us."

Dan put a suppression cuff on Lorne and then grabbed him. Lorne took back his hand and punched Dan with his other hand. Bethany used her telekinesis to fling Lorne into a wall and Cara thrust a knee into Bethany. Dan telekinetically pushed Stephen and Lorne off their feet and onto the ground while Cara and Bethany continued their hand-to-hand fight. Dan continued to push Stephen and Lorne until Stephen started to resist with his own powers.

John suddenly teleported into the alley. The burst of power caught everyone's attention and made them stop. Lorne suddenly looked very nervous.

Cara approached Stephen and Lorne.

John crossed his arms. "I don't want to do this again, so let's make this quick. State your case so I can ignore it and take this guy away."

"He's one of us," Stephen said.

"He was using telekinesis in public to steal food. I thought you had a system for food," John told Stephen and Cara.

"We do," Cara answered. "This wasn't sanctioned."

"So you admit that he violated even your protocols," John stated.

"Yeah, he broke our rules, so let us handle it," Stephen said.

"That's not the way this works, not when he's stealing and using his powers in public."

"John," Cara began until she saw John frowning at Lorne. "What is it?"

"You set this up," John said to Lorne.

John telekinetically moved Lorne away from Stephen and Cara and closer to himself.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lorne countered.

"You wanted to escalate things between us. Why?"

"It's nothing! I was just hungry!"

"What's going on, Lorne?" Stephen asked.

John put a hand on Lorne's head.

"Stay out!" Lorne yelled. Lorne started to recite as many presidents as he could in his head.

Soon, the probe was over. Without addressing anyone else, John grabbed Lorne and teleported away. Bethany and Dan followed.

"Did you pick up anything?" Stephen asked. "All I got were presidents."

"I didn't get anything else. Lorne knows how to block, but I think John still got what he needed."

Stephen sighed. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't change the fact that Lorne succeeded and things got violent."

"This is going to be a mess," Cara agreed. "We need Russell to act now and salvage what we can."

After dinner and after making sure no one was around, Russell teleported into Jed's office. He searched through various cabinets, using his telekinesis to open locks. He finally found a folder of medical charts. He tried to teleport out, but found that he couldn't. When he approached the door, he found that it had a yale lock on both sides; only a key could open it. His attempts at telekinetically manipulating the lock failed. After several seconds of cussing, Russell called Stephen.

"I'm stuck in Jed's office," Russell said, not realizing that John and Jed were nearby, watching.

"Deactivate the chips outside the office," Jed whispered. "Let them come in."

"I need a key to open the door," Russell told Stephen.

Stephen and Cara teleported into the building, outside Jed's door.

"I don't want to shatter anything," Stephen said as he looked around.

Jed finally spoke up. "Well, thank you for being considerate."

Stephen closed his eyes and began shaking his head.

"What did you expect, Russell?" Jed asked. "Did you really think I wouldn't know how to protect my privacy from everyone? Did it not occur to you that I might have an alarm that notifies me when someone unexpectedly enters my office? Normally, you wouldn't have even been able to teleport in, but I must have been half-distracted when I left."

"You were," John said.

"That's not really relevant right now, John," Jed replied. "Shut the chips off, would you?"

John telekinetically disabled the chips and opened the door to let Russell out.

"Well, you're done," Jed told Russell. "I knew you'd be reporting back to Stephen and Cara and I was fine with that because I wanted them to know we're doing good work here, but you crossed a line. Get your things and leave."

Everyone watched as Russell walked away.

"I'm monitoring him," John told Jed.

"Your telepathy is growing," Cara observed.

"You have no idea," Jed replied. "He's doing things that you were doing in the lair and doing it better. That's how we found and tracked a lot of TPs like Rich."

"What happened to Lorne?" Stephen asked.

"I took away his powers," Jed answered.

"Where is he now?" Cara asked.

"He's locked away," replied John.

"Why are you keeping him here?" said Stephen.

"He and some other people are planning something. He needs to be kept out of the equation until John can take care of it. On that note, there was a robbery at a pharmacy going on at the same time Lorne was stealing. By the time we got there, the thieves were gone. You have some more rogues."

"That's from Lorne?" Stephen asked.

"Yes," John answered.

"Do you have any names?" Cara asked.

John looked at Jed, who nodded to him.

"Natalie is back," John explained. "She wants to kidnap me, erase the rest of my memories, and manipulate me into becoming her weapon. She has a few plants at the Refuge."

"Let us help you with that," Stephen said.

"I don't exactly trust you right now," responded Jed.

"We apologize that things got out of hand, all right?" said Cara. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"You're only conceding because Lorne's involved with Natalie, not because he's a criminal. You'll forgive me for having doubts. You certainly have doubts about me, even after everything Russell has seen."

Russell came back and joined Cara and Stephen.

"If there's a new breakout, both our groups will offer that breakout a choice," Jed said. "That choice will not be binding and the other group will not resist. This system has been working so far."

"Yes, it has," Stephen admitted.

"Criminals automatically come to us, no matter the excuse, no matter the crime. That's not up for discussion. My people are becoming better trained every day and we have the full and overt backing of the government, so don't challenge us here."

"Fine, now can we discuss Natalie?" Stephen requested. "Did you get the names of the plants from Lorne?"

"We'll tell you only if you bring them here now and let us handle the rest," Jed replied.

Stephen looked at Cara.

"Who are they?" Cara asked.

"Rosa Loy, Doug Williams, and Max Alvarez," John answered.

Jed handed the Refuge leaders suppression cuffs.

"Do you know where Natalie is hiding?" asked Stephen.

"No," said John. "Lorne doesn't know. She recently moved."

Stephen, Cara, and Russell teleported away.

"I'm going to get a team ready," Jed said.

At the Refuge, Stephen approached Rosa Loy. "Hey, I heard you pulled some nice moves during training."

"I'm just trying to think ahead and be prepared," Rosa answered.

"I also heard you had a coupon for Sports Authority that you're not using?"

"Yeah."

Rosa found the coupon and handed it to Stephen, only to find a suppression cuff on her. Then, she found herself in a cold room.

Russell approached Doug Williams.

"Hey . . ."

"Hi, Russell."

Russell sighed. "Oh, forget the pretending." Russell knocked Doug to the ground with an elbow to the face, then slapped a suppression cuff on Doug and teleported the pair to Stephen and Rosa.

Cara also chose the direct option with Max Alvarez. She surprised him in his room, then landed a punch to the stomach before flinging him into a wall. After putting a suppression cuff on Max, she teleported him to the same room as everyone else.

"What's wrong? What's happening?" Max asked.

"No," Cara warned. "No games. Just tell us where Natalie is."

"Yeah, that's right," Russell said. "We know that you're working for Natalie now."

"Think about Natalie," Stephen requested. "Think about her blonde hair and her overdone makeup. Think about where she's hiding. Where is she? A warehouse? A house? The sewers?"

"It's a house," Cara learned.

"Around here?" Stephen asked. "Suburbs?"

"Suburbs," Cara realized.

"Whoever's thinking, stop!" Rosa hissed.

"Not easy, is it?" Cara remarked. "It's like us telling you not to think of a pink elephant."

"And there's the pink elephant," Russell noted.

"Think about the house where Natalie is," Cara requested. "Leaves. The roof. The windows. The floors."

Cara continued to probe.

"I have it," Cara finally said.

"Let's go," Stephen added.

Meanwhile, Jed and John waited with a team and a small box of syringes.

"They're probably interrogating the plants," John remarked.

"Yeah," Jed replied.

"Or they're still looking for them," John suggested. "Natalie's group might have suspected something's happening."

Derek teleported in. "What's going on?"

The Refuge leaders teleported in with the three plants.

"Sorry," Russell remarked. "They weren't all together."

John glanced at Jed, who raised an eyebrow.

"We have a stake in this, too," Stephen said. "We have a group ready to take down Natalie."

John stared at his former friends and they teleported away.

"Where'd they go?" Derek asked.

"I entered their minds and activated their teleportation powers," replied John. "They're home."

"They found out where Natalie is?" Jed asked.

"Yeah, and I know where."

"Brendan, take these three to holding cells," Jed ordered. "John, show everyone else the way to Natalie. We'll give some people here one last mission before they head to Washington, DC."

"How did we end up here?" Russell asked at the Refuge.

Several TPs in the Refuge joined the three after Stephen telepathically called for them.

"It doesn't matter," Stephen said. "We're going after Natalie now."

Everyone teleported away. When they arrived at Natalie's hideout, it was clear that Jed's group had arrived and already engaged in battle. They quickly joined the fracas. Natalie went after John to inject him with a concoction, but found him too much of a challenge. Eventually, Natalie gave up and telepathically summoned help and someone behind John tackled him. Although John was able to fight back and inject his assailant with the serum to strip powers, Natalie teleported away and reappeared outside and hid by bushes.

It wasn't long before the combined efforts from the Refuge and Jed's team defeated Natalie's group and stripped their powers.

"I'm going to take a look around," said John.

Jed's team started to teleport the defeated TPs away and many from the Refuge returned home.

John walked around to the back of the house.

"I know you're there, Natalie."

Natalie came out. "You remember me?"

"No, but Jed told me what he could about you. I thought you would have teleported far away from here."

"I was waiting for anyone else who might have escaped. Also, I like scorched earth policies, especially literal ones," Natalie responded. She dropped something tiny and teleported away.

During the conversation between John and Natalie, Jed and Derek were left in the house with Stephen, Russell, and Cara.

"Stephen, Cara, join us, will you?" Jed requested.

Russell teleported home. Just as Derek, Jed, Stephen, and Cara left, the device that Natalie dropped landed on the ground and the house exploded.

Jed, Stephen, Cara, and Derek landed with a thump.

"What was that?" Stephen asked.

"Something happened back at the house," Derek realized.

"John's still there," said Jed. "Take me back!"

Derek teleported Jed to the house and Cara and Stephen followed.

"John!" Jed screamed out when he saw the house on fire. He ran to the back of the house.

John was lying on his back, bleeding profusely and coughing up blood.

"Jed?" John asked weakly.

Jed kneeled down and cupped John's face with his hands. "I'm here. I'm here."

John looked into Jed's eyes.

"Get yourself into Limbo, John," Jed frantically said.

"I've been trying," John replied quietly, unable to muster a stronger voice. "I can't do it. I don't even know if I got that power from Roger."

"I want to teleport him to a hospital," Cara said. "I don't care about exposure."

"There's a hospital close by," Derek offered. He got out his phone.

Jed, Derek, Cara, and Stephen all stopped when they realized that John was no longer breathing. His face, looking at Jed, was still.

Cara began to cry and Stephen pulled his hands to his face.

"De . . . Derek," Jed said unsteadily. "Take him to . . . headquarters. Cryogenic chamber. Now." Jed stood up, shaking slightly. He stumbled away slowly.

After Derek left, Stephen hugged Cara. "The explosion will get attention. Go back to the Refuge. I'll be there soon."

Cara complied and Stephen walked over to Jed. Without speaking, Stephen teleported Jed to Jed's apartment.

"I know you and John meant a lot to each other so I am sorry," Stephen said. "The thing is, though, that we lost him, too. Again. And you know that if John had been at the Refuge, with his memories, I wouldn't have had any problem with him spending time with you."

Stephen teleported out.

Alone, Jed collapsed on a nearby sofa and went to sleep.

* * *

Thank you very much to the people who have been reading my story and more thanks to the people who have reviewed it. I wasn't planning on doing anything with the romantic tensions between John, Cara, Stephen, and Astrid, but I realize that it played a role in John's decision in the series finale, so maybe I'll add a line or something later on to address it. Rich will probably be back towards the end of the story.

I decided that the characters would be open about everything because it seemed to be the most practical way of doing things. If Jed was going to send John to recruit Cara, he wouldn't be able to hide the fact that not only should John have recognized Cara's picture, but that they also have a history, so Jed would have to come clean. John could have hidden from his former friends that he had no memory of them, but I just didn't want to take this story in that direction.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing. I'll have the next chapter up in a few days.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The morning after Natalie's group was defeated, Jed remotely checked on the cryogenic chamber housing John. Then, he went to the airport and after several hours, arrived in Oregon. He took a taxi to an apartment complex and knocked on a door.

Morgan answered.

"Hi," Morgan said with hesitation.

"I missed you," Jed responded. "I'll be blunt. I know things didn't go well the last time we were together. I've played that moment in my head so many times and I hate myself for what I did. I am so sorry for choking you."

"And I'm sorry that I read your mind."

"What do you say to second chances?"

Morgan stood still, then stepped forward and kissed Jed passionately.

Inside, Jed and Morgan sat in the living room, which consisted of three wooden chairs. Jed couldn't keep his eyes off Morgan's belly.

"Do you know the sex?" Jed asked.

"It's a girl."

"Did you set up a crib yet?"

"No. I was going to wait another week or two," Morgan replied.

"Why did you leave New York?"

"I overheard what the Founder was planning. When I found out that Roger had been handed over to him, I was afraid of the worst. Our daughter might be human, so she wasn't safe."

"You left to protect her," Jed realized.

"I wanted to tell you, but everything was chaotic and I didn't want to take any chances."

"You were right to leave immediately. That was a good call."

"So what happened?" Morgan asked.

"Stephen defeated the Founder and Ultra is no more. I'm running a new organization in New York now, supported by a different part of the government. We police TP activity and train TPs to fight in wars."

"What about new breakouts across the country? How are they being managed?"

"When he beat the Founder, Stephen inadvertently sent out a telepathic signal that attracted TPs. They're still coming. New breakouts are gravitating towards New York where we can take care of them before they do anything that attracts attention."

"Things have really changed then," Morgan realized.

"Yes. It's all good now."

"Really?" Morgan asked.

"It's safe now. It's safe for you to go back, live in New York with me."

"My doctor is here," Morgan pointed out.

"There are plenty of good doctors in New York. Come back with me. It's time for us to be together, publicly. It's time for us to be a family."

Morgan smiled at the thought.

"Do you have a lot to pack?"

"No, I wasn't sure when I'd have to move again. That's why I haven't set up a nursery yet. I could probably fit everything into three suitcases except for these chairs and a table, none of which I care to keep."

"Perfect," Jed said. "I'll pack for you and we can go back tonight, unless you have any commitments?"

Morgan shook her head.

"We'll take care of your lease and other arrangements in the morning." Jed stood up and checked his phone. "I could actually use your help tomorrow."

"Jed, I can tell something's wrong. I don't need to be in your mind to know that. What happened?"

"Give me a moment. I just need to make a call. I have a delivery and I need to make sure it will be at my office tomorrow morning. Then, I'll explain everything."

The next morning, Stephen burst into Cara's office with Russell behind him.

"Cara," Stephen began. "My mom needs Russell's and my help for a few hours, starting now. She was hoping you could come, too."

"Yeah, sure," Cara replied. "Just give me two minutes to finish this email. Have you heard from Jed about funeral arrangements?"

"Not yet. Have you told anyone what happened?"

Cara shook her head. "I don't know how I'd do that."

A few minutes later, Stephen, Russell, and Cara arrived at The Refuge's lobby, only to see two unexpected guests, one unwelcome.

"What are you doing here?" Cara asked Jed, who was standing next to Marla and Morgan.

"He's actually the one who needs all of us," Marla explained. "I think you should listen to him."

"Why would we help you?" Russell asked.

"You'll want to once I tell you what I need," Jed responded.

"Fine, what do you want?" Cara asked.

"I need your help to get John back into his body."

The Refuge's leaders stood shocked for several seconds.

"He managed to get into Limbo," Stephen realized.

"Oh, no. This is something else," Jed replied. He tapped the side of his head. "This is something new."

Jed, Marla, Morgan, Stephen, Cara, and Russell gathered around John's body in an area off limits to nearly the rest of Jed's employees. Jed had returned John to a cryogenic chamber after Marla completed a full body scan.

"How is this even possible?" Cara asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" Jed replied.

"That's a cool trick," Russell commented.

"John said he picked it up from X-Men."

"His consciousness has been in you this whole time?" Stephen asked. "Since he appeared to die?"

"Yes, but he's never done this before," Jed explained. "Moving his consciousness into another person, and a normal human at that, scrambled John's mind. He needed time to pull himself together and I needed time to get the supplies we need. We're both ready now."

"The seven of us will have a literal meeting of the minds," Marla explained. "John will use that to access the powers of the six of us and use our combined telekinetic skills to fix his body. When his body is ready, he'll go back in."

"He can do that?" asked Russell.

"He's done it before when he made us teleport," Cara recalled.

"During this meeting, our seven minds will be open books to each other," said Jed. "I am warning you, we need to respect each other's privacy and stick to the task. You should be focused on repairing John, not anything else. Got that?"

Stephen, Cara, and Russell voiced their agreement, and Jed extended his arms to them. Jed, Morgan, Stephen, Cara, and Russell held hands and formed a circle around John's feet. Marla put a hand on Jed's shoulder.

"Morgan," Jed said. "Reach out to the rest of us when you're ready."

Morgan closed her eyes and tried to read the thoughts of everyone in the room. The TPs opened themselves to her, creating a network.

"Hello, everyone," said John.

"Hi, John," Cara answered.

"Thanks for helping me."

"You know we always have your back," Russell answered.

"All right, let's get to work," Marla instructed. "John?"

"I can feel all of your telekinetic powers. I have them."

"Okay," Marla responded. "Let's start with your head and work your way down. There's a crack in your skull, behind that cut above your right eye."

Jed opened his eyes and looked at John's closed eyes. "Focus on that spot above your right eye, John. Feel yourself reaching out and touching that cut."

"I am."

"Focus on that spot, push against it," Jed instructed.

"Okay."

"Do you feel the hardness of your skull when you do that?"

"Yes."

"Good, now focus on that hardness. Feel every surface along it."

"I feel the crack."

"Focus solely on the crack. Imagine that you are getting close to the crack. Keep on focusing on it until you feel every single cell."

As John started to sense each cell, Russell's face lit up in awe and Stephen's and Cara's mouths dropped.

"The crack isn't big enough to be dangerous, but I'd feel more comfortable if we took care of it. You don't need to fill it all the way, maybe halfway," Marla advised.

"Let's not leave anything to chance," said Jed.

"You can take cells from other parts of your skull," Marla said. "A cell here and there won't cause any problems, but they will add up and help handle the crack."

"Do the same thing you did before, John," Jed instructed. "Focus on another part of your skull and remove a cell. Then put it into the crack."

"Once you do that, you need to keep your hold on it," Marla said. "Can you do that?"

"Yes," replied John.

John repeated the process many times until Marla was satisfied.

"Keep your hold on it," Marla said, referring to the crack full of displaced cells. "When I get everything running, your body will take over and keep everything intact by itself."

"Okay."

"Now, let's move on to the cut. The skin is much more flexible than bone, so we have a lot more flexibility," said Marla.

"Grab each side of the cut," said Jed. "Push them together and keep your hold on it."

"Okay."

"Now, focus on the cells in the middle. Imagine them coming together, intertwining."

John complied. He repeated the process with his nerve cells and blood vessels.

"Good," Marla said. "You're going to do the same thing with all your other cuts across your body and then we're going to move in and do the same thing with your organs."

"How are his internal organs?" Cara asked.

"The damage is superficial," Marla said.

"I was able to put up a telekinetic shield when the building exploded," John said. "I just didn't put it up in time to prevent all damage."

"You did great, John," assured Jed. "If not for your quick thinking, your internal organs would have been liquefied and this operation wouldn't have been possible."

"No, it wouldn't," Marla said.

Over the next couple of hours, John used the TP's telekinetic powers to close every cut and mend every organ that was damaged in the explosion.

"Do you have a hold on everything?" Marla asked.

"I do," John answered.

"I can't believe you can hold everything together," Russell said.

"You're feeling it right now," responded Jed.

"Keep on holding it, John. I'm going to break contact and take my hand off Jed's shoulder," Marla said.

"I'm ready."

Marla broke from the connection and turned off the cryogenic chamber. She opened the lid to access John's body. Marla injected him with atropine and applied a combination of other treatments to restart John's heart and lungs.

After another hour, Marla put a hand on Jed's shoulder.

"How are you holding up, John?" Marla asked.

"I'm fine. I can sustain this."

"Well?" Jed asked.

"John's body is ready. He doesn't need help holding himself together anymore."

"Time to break contact, then," Jed suggested.

Slowly, the group took their hands back, and Jed walked over to John. Marla approached Jed from behind while Jed put his hands on the sides of John's head.

"Are you ready?" Jed asked Marla.

"Yes. Are you?"

"Yes."

" _John, are you ready_?" Jed thought.

" _I'm ready_ ," John replied.

Jed stared intently at John's face for several minutes before he stumbled.

Marla caught Jed, but he quickly recovered and returned to John.

"John?" Jed whispered.

Stephen, Cara, and Russell watched anxiously.

John slowly opened his eyes and Jed smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Jed asked.

"Tired."

Later, Jed rested in bed while Marla kept him company.

"You still feel all right?" Marla asked.

"I'm fine. John's the one who died and put himself back together."

"John is insanely powerful. You are a normal human who was occupied by that insanely powerful person."

"I'm fine. I'll be back to 100% in the morning," said Jed.

"I'm glad that a part of Roger lives on in John. He'd be proud of what John has been doing with his new powers."

"If I wasn't on the outs with Ultra when I shot Roger, I would have immediately got him into a cryogenic chamber and we could have revived him again."

"I know," Marla said.

"How's Luca doing?"

"He's fine."

"Has he broken out yet?"

"No, but I'm keeping an eye out for that. When he does, I'll guide him and watch over him. You don't need to be involved."

"I do if I want to be the best uncle I can be, and I'm not talking about powers here."

Marla smiled and nodded.

"I appreciate you not pressuring Stephen into joining your organization."

"I appreciate that you appreciate it. I left it for him to choose because I didn't want to cross you again."

"Good idea."

"I knew that getting anyone in that cohort would be a longshot, but reaching out to them did get me plenty of very good recruits from the Refuge."

Meanwhile, John was resting in his bed and Morgan was keeping him company.

"I can't believe how young you look without stubble," Morgan told John.

"Jed has very strict rules about appearances."

"He told me about your memory loss. You don't remember me at all, do you?"

"No, sorry. If it's that important to you, I can go into your mind and experience your memories of me."

"No, you don't have to do that. Are you ever going to get your memories back?"

"Probably not. I think I could find a way to restore my memories, but I'm fine like this."

"Why don't you want to remember those times? Those were important years."

John sighed. "Jed was very open and honest about what happened during those six years. He told me about how he hunted me and shot at me. He's told me a lot. I don't need to be a telepath to know that he's terrified of losing me again. I'm afraid that if I remember those six years, I'll hate him. I don't want to hate him, and I don't want him to lose me."

"You and I spent some time getting to know one another when I was at the lair. You were angry and frustrated at Jed and yes, sometimes you said you hated him, but deep down, I know you cared. It's similar to my situation. I spent the last few months alone and upset at Jed for how things fell apart, but I still love him. That's what happens in families."

"He told me that we reconciled and even worked together to protect Roger," John said. "That's reassuring, but I still don't want to feel angry or frustrated at him."

"And that's fine. That's entirely your choice," Morgan said. "It's not Stephen's or Cara's."

"Or mine, for that matter," Jed said at the door.

"What are you doing up?" Morgan asked.

"Marla just left. I wanted to check in on John," Jed answered.

Morgan kissed John's forehead and headed out the door while Jed approached John.

"Five minutes, Jed," Morgan cautioned. "Don't make a pregnant woman come get you."

John chuckled lightly while Jed smiled.

"I won't. I promise," Jed said.

"Sleep tight, John."

"I will, Morgan."

"So, how are you feeling?" Jed asked.

"I'm good, really. I'm just tired. You?"

"I'm fine. Marla is adamant that you take things slowly. Your injuries are all superficial now, but they are still there."

"Okay. I'll be ready to go back to work tomorrow."

"No," Jed said.

"It's 3:30 in the afternoon. I think 15 hours of sleep will be enough recovery time. I need to do something and you really need all hands on deck for the next few days."

"We'll see."

John frowned. "What is it?"

"I can still feel you inside my head."

"I'm pretty sure I'm all out of there."

"This is probably some after effect. Your presence left something else behind."

"Sorry," said John.

Jed smiled. "No, don't be. It's actually great. If you weren't so tired, you'd probably be aware of it, too."

The next morning, John looked up at his office building. He had managed to convince Jed to let him work under one condition.

"I don't think I've even seen the inside of the elevators, here," said John.

"You will today. You agreed that you wouldn't use any powers today whatsoever. You're going to take the long route today of walking slowly and riding the elevator. I probably have a backlog of paperwork and I'll need your help with it on top of the transition."

Jed and John walked through the front door, past a security guard and a receptionist.

"Good morning, Dana, Jo," Jed and John said, nearly in unison.

Instead of replying, both Dana and Jo appeared to pale.

Jed and John entered the elevator and rode up.

"Don't say it," Jed warned.

" _They look like they've seen a ghost_ ," John thought.

"Did you think it?" Jed asked.

"Yes."

Jed rolled his eyes and John noticed.

"You take the fun out of dying," John said.

The two exited the elevator on the top floor and headed to Jed's office.

"Good morning, Marcy," Jed said.

Marcy's mouth dropped when she saw John.

"Good morning, Marcy," said John. "Could you send someone from the accounting department to us, please? We need to go over the invoices for Rutherford."

Marcy nodded while her mouth was still open. She turned to a colleague after Jed and John entered Jed's office. "You saw him, too, right? And heard him?"

Activity picked up outside of Jed's office as news about John spread.

Jared and Bethany barged into Jed's office.

"You were dead!" Jared cried.

"I got better," said John as he leafed through a pile of papers.

"Bethany, did you update Marcy on the living quarters in Washington, D.C.?" Jed asked.

"You blew up!" Bethany yelled, ignoring Jed.

"And then he put himself back together," said Jed. "D.C.?"

"Yes, everything is all set there and all of us are packed and ready for our flight down tomorrow," Bethany answered.

"Good. I've made some arrangements for your farewell party that I think you'll all like," Jed said. He gave the agents a look that encouraged them to get back to work.

John continued looking through his papers.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Jed asked.

John looked at Jed and smiled. "Yes, but I know you are, too. Don't try to deny it."

Over at the Refuge, excitement buzzed around noon when lunch was delivered.

"I didn't know Peter Luger did catering," a TP said.

"They don't. Stephen's uncle called in a huge favor after Stephen, Russell, and Cara helped him with something."

In Stephen's office, Stephen, Cara, and Russell told Astrid about John's recovery.

"So he's okay?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah," Stephen answered. "I called Jed an hour ago. He said John's fine and working. The first group of super-soldiers is heading to Washington, D.C. in the morning and John will be occupied with the transition. Russell, he also said that your debts to him are paid."

"Any chance his memory came back?" Astrid asked.

"No," Cara replied.

"Well, this is still good, right? We're making lots of headway!" Astrid said. "Maybe John will trust us enough to let you help him remember."

Cara eyed Stephen.

"What?" asked Astrid.

"When John was finishing up, we quickly peered into his mind," Cara explained.

"I can't believe I'm going to suggest this is a bad thing," Stephen said, "but it was peaceful in there."

Astrid was about to respond until she understood the implication. Guilt suddenly swept through Astrid when she realized that she was upset because of how John felt.

"He never seemed so unburdened in the years I knew him," Cara added.

"And it was mad powerful in there, too," Russell added. "He could probably take on the three of us together."

"Telekinesis on a cellular level," Stephen said. "That was . . ."

"Beautiful," Cara finished for him.

"Jed trained him even better than I thought," Russell said in a notably neutral tone.

As Astrid noted the lack of response and Cara's dour face and after nearly a minute of silence, a question formed in her mouth. She feared it, particularly because she already suspected what the answer was, but she still let it out.

"We're letting John go, aren't we?"

* * *

Thanks again for reading and for the reviews. Both are very encouraging. The explanation for Morgan's departure came from Anonyreaderfan's _Fresh Start_. Anonyreaderfan let me use it, so thank you very much for that. The explanation made so much sense that any other would have felt wrong to me.


	5. Chapter 5

Volume 2: Out of the Maelstrom

Chapter 1

It had been just over three weeks since Natalie and her group were defeated. She had since spent nights in various motels rooms, assuming that if they were still vacant by a certain time, they would likely be vacant for the rest of the night.

It was not uncommon for Natalie to have trouble sleeping. This night, however, felt different. A sense of foreboding stayed with her, preventing her from finding peace. Suddenly, she started to thrash around in bed. After nearly a minute, everything went still and a breath of relief escaped her lips.

The next day, Cara and John both sensed a new breakout.

Cara teleported to a quiet neighborhood and was soon joined by another Tomorrow Person.

"Hi, you must be Cara. I'm Leigh."

Cara shook her hand. "Nice to meet you. Are you a recent breakout?"

"Yeah, John found me about a month ago in Crestwood Square."

Cara nodded. "I remember sensing you, but John beat me to you."

"He did tell me about the Refuge, but I was convinced to join him. He said we're looking for a teenage boy here."

Cara looked around and pointed to a house. "In there. I don't sense anyone else in there."

"I don't either."

Cara and Leigh proceeded to the house.

" _Hello?_ " Cara broadcast in thought.

" _Who is that? How are you talking to me?_ "

" _My name is Cara. I'm just like you. You didn't think that was possible, did you?_ "

" _No._ "

" _I'm just outside your door. Would you like to talk about this?_ "

" _We know what you're going through_ ," Leigh thought. " _I was in your exact situation a month ago._ "

"He's coming," Cara told Leigh.

The door opened.

"Hi, I'm Leigh. This is Cara. What's your name?"

"Ben."

"Well, Ben, the three of us are Tomorrow People, though I haven't met anyone who actually likes that name," Cara explained. "We both work with other Tomorrow People and think that we could help you out."

"You can cure me?" Ben asked.

"It is possible to remove these powers, but they are a gift, Ben," Leigh explained.

"I know you're confused and scared, but there are so many people who know exactly how you feel," said Cara. "Come meet some of us."

"I'm a part of an organization that trains Tomorrow People to be soldiers for the U.S. government. We also track activity among the Tomorrow People to make sure no one is using their powers to hurt others or using their powers in public. We don't want our existence to be known yet."

"And I'm part of what is called The Refuge. We're a community of Tomorrow People who help each other adapt to lives with powers. We train people to harness their powers. We're like a big family."

Both Cara and Leigh noticed Ben's hesitation.

"Let one of us just show you around, show you what life is like as a Tomorrow Person. You'll also get to talk to more of us. We're not taking you away from your family," said Cara. "We just want you to see that these powers are a gift."

"And that you're not alone," Leigh added.

After taking more time to think, Ben finally had an answer. "I just turned seventeen years old a few weeks ago. I don't want a job. I just want to belong. I'll go with you, Cara."

"If you ever change your mind or just want to learn more about my place, they know how to reach us," Leigh said.

In another part of New York City, Stephen teleported to an arcade and saw a familiar face.

"I remember you. You're Derek."

"Derek Armanas. You're Stephen Jameson," acknowledged Derek as the two shook hands.

"I thought you'd be in the Middle East."

"Dr. Price wanted to keep a couple of the more experienced TPs around to lead enforcements teams and training groups. John can't do everything. Besides, John and I have become really good friends lately and Dr. Price thought it'd be nice for John to have friends around him."

Stephen rolled his eyes, but refrained from commenting. "You're here for the same reason I am?" he asked.

"Yeah," answered Derek. "John thinks we're looking for someone who is using her powers irresponsibly."

Stephen and Derek walked around the arcade together. They saw a young woman at a claw game machine. When the claw reached a stuffed animal, the young woman used her telekinetic powers to force the animal into the claw. She then claimed her prize.

"That's harmless," Stephen said. "You can't detain her for that."

"We should still talk to her. Without boundaries, this could escalate further down the line."

Derek and Stephen watched as the young TP approached a younger boy with two prizes from the claw game.

"And that looks less harmless," Derek noted while reading the boy's mind. "That kid doesn't know her."

Stephen and Derek approached the pair as they walked out of the arcade. Because the TP was holding one of the boy's hands, Derek easily snapped a suppression cuff on her.

"Nicola, hmm?" Derek asked, while continuing to read the boy's mind. "At least, that's what you told him your name is."

Stephen hurried Nicola away and Derek bent down to address the boy.

"She lied, kid. Go find your parents and stop talking to strangers."

Derek joined Stephen and Nicola in a vacant hallway.

"She's yours," Stephen told Derek.

"Thanks. Will you be at the meeting later?"

"Yeah. See you then."

"See ya."

Stephen, Derek, and Nicola teleported away.

Later, Stephen, Cara, and Irene arrived at Jed's for a meeting, which was also attended by John and Derek.

"I thought Russell was the one spearheading this initiative," said Jed. "I'm surprised he didn't come."

"He wasn't sure if he'd be welcome," responded Cara.

"Like Jed told Stephen a few weeks back, all is forgiven," John said.

"John convinced me to let everything go. It was his way of thanking Russell for helping us," added Jed. "So, how many Red Avengers have you recruited?"

"None," Stephen answered. "They're located in various places across the country, but no one has a permanent base in New York City. The plan is for our group of volunteers to be the first."

"In public, the team will rely on telepathy and telekinesis," Cara explained. "Telepathy isn't an issue for exposure. For telekinesis, the team will carry hollow batons. They do nothing. If I want to use telekinesis in public, I'll limit it to bursts of force. I would hold the baton out and to an eyewitness, the telekinetic burst will look like it came from the baton."

"The team will likely need to teleport to a location," added Irene. "They would follow the same protocols for secrecy as they do now. The team will operate mostly during the night."

"You said you would be helping normal humans?" asked Jed.

"That's the plan," Stephen responded. "However, if we arrive at a situation and the victim is a TP, we're obviously not going to refuse help."

Derek spoke up. "I'm concerned that TPs who are a part of neither of our organizations might see this behavior and be encouraged to use their powers in public."

"That's why we're focusing on helping normal human beings," Irene responded.

"I'm wondering how long you can keep up the charade," John said. "It would only be a matter of time before a few people on the internet over-analyze video clips and see what is really going on. Also, these superhero activities will generate publicity. Even if our powers remain a secret, there's going to be a lot of scrutiny."

"The Red Avengers haven't had these problems before," Stephen noted.

"It might just be a matter of time," Derek countered. "Besides, you intend to be more active than the Red Avengers in a city that doesn't get much privacy."

"Who's going to do this?" Jed asked.

"Russell will take charge," Cara answered. "There are six additional volunteers who will patrol the city with Russell. Around ten more of us will join in on missions from time to time. We'd be on call for backup, basically. Stephen and I are a part of that lineup."

"No more than three at a time," Jed offered. "Keeping this number low will minimize exposure in more ways that one. It'd be a bad idea to have a full blown team."

Irene glanced at Cara and Stephen, worried.

"You're going to need a fancy looking baton, too," Derek said. "John's right about the charade. If you use a simple hollow baton, people will notice."

"I can get an engineer to build batons that look futuristic," said Jed. "It'll be our contribution towards this project. I'll have a tracker added so we'll know it's you out there."

"You'll be monitoring us?" Irene asked.

"I want to make sure we don't send agents out there, thinking that there are TPs using their powers irresponsibly. If we pick up activity and we see the trackers, we'll know it's you and leave you to it. I do think playing superhero is a good idea. You just need to exercise caution and restraint."

Later, Irene, Cara, and Stephen updated Russell and a couple of Refuge members about the meeting. Charlie also attended the meeting.

"What's wrong, Irene?" Cara asked.

"Nothing, I just didn't like how Dr. Price was dictating terms like that. He's not our boss."

"We need him on our side to do this," Stephen replied. "And as much as I'd hate to say it, I knew his input would be helpful."

"Our groups are finally co-existing," Cara said. "We don't want to damage that."

"Will you be wearing colorful superhero costumes?" Charlie asked.

"No way," Russell said. "Tights don't work for me. We're all dressing in black, doing this ninja style."

"We're keeping it simple," Cara added. "Black shirt with long sleeves, black pants, and a black mask."

"That's probably for the best," Irene suggested. "No confusion between you and the Red Avengers."

That night, Cara joined Stephen's family for dinner.

"When's the last time you've had a night to yourselves?" Marla asked Cara and Stephen.

Stephen and Cara looked at each other and laughed.

"I don't even remember," Cara replied.

"It's been a few weeks, I think," said Stephen.

"You're going to need some privacy tonight, then?" Luca asked.

The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward in the dining room.

"You're not going to ruin this, Luca," said Stephen.

"It was worth a shot."

Stephen prepared to flick the air towards Luca, but Marla stopped him.

"No powers at the dinner table."

Cara smiled. "Can you imagine how sibling rivalry would have been like before if powers were involved?"

"I'd rather not," Marla answered, smiling.

"We'd probably lose the upstairs," Luca commented.

Later, Cara joined Stephen in his bedroom.

"So, Luca didn't ruin the mood," Stephen said.

"It's been too long for anyone to get in our way." Cara kissed Stephen passionately and then began to remove his clothes.

Two days later, the team was ready with outfits and John teleported into the Refuge, outside of Cara's office. He knocked.

"Come in, John."

John held out five batons. "Jed had a couple extras built in case any get broken."

"Those look very technical and advanced," Cara commented. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem. By the way, our overseas agents are doing well and a lot of people in Washington are impressed with our work."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah," John said. "Jed has some friends in very high places now. He mentioned in your file what happened when some guy tried to rape you. Like he and I said a couple days ago, I wanted to thank you, Russell, and Stephen for helping me out after the explosion. I put in some calls to Jed's friends and pushed around a bit. I got your record cleared. You're not a fugitive anymore."

Cara looked slightly shocked.

"Jed told me that you left a father and a sister."

"Yeah," Cara shakily replied.

"You get to see them again."

Cara smiled and nodded. "Thank you, John."

"I owed you."

"No, you didn't. I was just helping out a close friend, even if he didn't remember me."

"Well, thanks again anyway. I got to go. Contact us if you need any more batons."

"John?" Cara called out quickly.

"Yeah?"

Cara hesitated. "Are you . . . happy?"

John's features softened and he smiled. "I am."

Cara nodded. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Bye."

After John teleported out, Cara stared at the space he occupied for a while before retuning to her work.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 2

Russell and two TPs from The Refuge, Janie and Darnell, teleported across several rooftops in their black clothes, sensing for people in distress.

"I have something," Darnell suddenly said. "Kids in an apartment. Involuntarily."

"The bathroom is vacant," Janie realized. "We can teleport into there."

Russell, Darnell, and Janie teleported in. As they stepped out of the bathroom, they alarmed two people who grabbed guns. Each TP targeted a person and flung the people back against a wall while extending their batons out.

"Tie them up!" Russell yelled.

Russell ran into a bedroom and saw that it was vacant. He then went into another and saw four young children.

"Hey, you're all right now," Russell said. "We came to help you."

"You're saving us?" a child asked.

"Yeah. You're safe now."

Darnell entered the bedroom. "They're tied up. Where do we take these kids?"

Everyone heard a door open.

"That's someone else," Russell realized.

As they heard a gunshot, Russell and Darnell rushed into the living room and saw that Janie had telekinetically pushed Nicola against a wall while holding a baton. Janie charged towards Nicola and shut the main door, then struck Nicola across the face with the baton.

"You were a TP," Russell realized, reading Nicola's thoughts.

"No need to rub it in," Nicola responded.

"Tie her up," Russell told his teammates. "The gunshot will get the police here."

"And if it doesn't?" Janie asked.

"I got it handled," Russell replied as he picked up a landline telephone.

"911 Emergency."

"I've been kidnapped," Russell said in a high-pitched voice. "I don't know where I am. Can you track me?"

"Yes, hold on as long as you can, okay? I'm sending someone over as quickly as I can."

"Please hurry," Russell requested. "I don't know when they will be back."

Russell went to see the kids again, leaving the phone connected to emergency services. Darnell and Janie joined him.

"It's going to be all right now," Russell told the children. "The police are coming and they're going to fix everything."

Russell, Janie, and Darnell waited with the children until they heard sirens and a rush of footsteps.

"Let's go," said Russell.

The three stood behind the kids and teleported away.

* * *

Elsewhere, Cara approached her old home.

Dennis noticed her and ran out. He looked around anxiously.

"It's okay, dad."

"Really?"

"Yes, it's all taken care of, and I wanted to visit Sophie the old fashioned way."

A look of disappointment and hurt flashed across Dennis' face.

"You wanted me to leave, dad," said Cara after reading Dennis' mind.

"I know. I don't blame you for that. I blame myself. I'm sorry, Cara."

Cara suddenly found herself in a hug that was firmer than she thought was possible.

"Can you forgive me? Please?" asked Dennis.

After a moment, Cara finally decided to return the hug.

Cara and Dennis sat in the dining room over some snacks.

"Sophie mentioned that you'd been helping her," Dennis said.

"Yes. There was an organization named Ultra that had been hunting paranormal humans. They went after Sophie, but that group is finished, now. We're safe."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Cara answered. "The guy in charge is dead."

"Is there a cure?"

Cara hesitated. "There is a way to remove these powers, but that's not the solution."

"Why not?"

"These powers are a part of who we are. We shouldn't take away that part of our identity away without a good reason."

"That bracelet is interfering with her dancing," Dennis mentioned. "How is she supposed to play a swan with a glowing blue bracelet?"

"She should take it off. No one's coming after her, anymore. After that, she should train with us at the Refuge."

"I don't know if I want that kind of life for her and more importantly, I'm sure she doesn't want that life, either."

"Dad, I was running for years from people who were hunting me. I know the pitfalls of these powers. I lived them and suffered because of them, but I can't imagine being without them. I think Sophie would feel the same way after she learns control. Besides that, if she gives up her powers and then changes her mind, I'm afraid none of us can handle what that will take."

"It'll be Sophie's decision. Whatever she decides, you need to support it."

"I will, dad."

"I've made up my mind," Sophie finally said, surprising Dennis.

"How long have you been there?" Dennis asked.

"Just a few minutes," Cara replied, smiling.

"You knew?"

"Yeah."

"Very sneaky, you two. It's a good thing you weren't trying to pull this over me years ago . . ." Dennis' remark faded away when he suddenly remembered that Cara hadn't been around at an age when he would have expected both his daughters to be typical teenagers.

"It's okay, dad," Cara softly said, understanding Dennis' emotions.

Dennis hugged Cara. "It's so good to have you back."

Cara hugged back, but also looked at Sophie. "What did you choose?"

"I'll train to hone my powers if you teach me. I want you to do it."

"I'd love to," Cara answered.

* * *

In another part of New York, Russell, Darnell, and Janie continued patrolling the city when they heard sets of tires squealing. They turned and saw one car pursuing another.

"Road rage," Janie concluded. "The guy in the front cut off the guy in the back several blocks away. The guy in the back is overreacting."

The trio saw the man in the rear car fire a gun at the car in front.

"Overreacting? You don't say," Russell stated.

Russell and Janie worked together to safely stop and tip the rear car to the side, while Darnell focused on the driver to ensure safety during the process.

In another part of New York City, Jed's agents monitored the activity.

"I'm sure it's the heroes from The Refuge," Derek said.

"I thought they're supposed to be carrying trackers," noted Alexis.

"Yeah, but the tracking program was updated earlier today and needs some files from Dr. Price's computer. He's still on his conference call. Give me a second." Derek grabbed a USB drive and headed to John's office.

"Hey," John said.

"Do you have the GPS synchronizing algorithm files on your computer, by any chance?"

"No, they're on Jed's computer. You think the Refuge TPs are active?"

"Yeah, but we're not 100% sure. Could you telepathically verify?"

"I'll log into Jed's computer for you," John replied. "You're going to need the files anyway, especially if they teleport."

John walked Derek to Jed's computer and logged into it.

"Do you know where to get it?" John asked.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Derek copied the files he needed into the USB drive and in the process of ejecting the drive and closing a window, he accidentally opened two different windows. He resisted the urge to invade Jed's privacy, but gave in when he saw that Jed was analyzing data on John. He also saw a search for someone named Ethan Vaughn. Derek then returned to a monitoring station and copied the files onto a different computer.

"Here we go," said Alexis.

"Yup, they're from the Refuge," Derek concluded.

"Thanks."

Derek returned to John's office.

"Don't be mad at me," Derek said.

John smiled. "What did you do?"

"There was something I saw on Dr. Price's computer. I took a closer look."

"I'll keep this between us," John said.

"Do you want to know what I saw?"

"If this is how you're reacting, then sure, fine. What did you see?"

"Your biological records. Dr. Price has been keeping tabs on you."

"I know that," John responded.

"This is very specific. Come on," Derek said.

John and Derek returned to Jed's computer.

Derek clicked on 'File' near the top of the screen. "He's been looking at analyses of your DNA. He also recently looked at his brother's DNA and running simulations on different interactions. I would understand if he's concerned about your overall health after you died, but this has to be about your powers. You got them back months ago. Why would he still be looking at this?"

John sighed. "Whatever his reasons are, I'm sure they're perfectly normal and fine."

"Yeah, probably, but this is weird and you're my best friend, so I'm keeping you in the loop."

"This is probably nothing, but thanks. Maybe I'll keep my ears to the ground for anything that could be related."

"I know it's been a long day for you. Did you eat yet? I was going to order some delivery."

"I could do that," John answered. "Where are you ordering from?"

"Haven't decided yet. I'll go grab some menus."

* * *

Russell, Janie, and Darnell continued teleporting across New York City. Someone suddenly teleported in front of them.

"Natalie?" Russell realized.

"I suppose you'd be a good start," Natalie said with a notable accent. She telekinetically flung Russell to the side and then hit him with another burst.

Darnell and Janie advanced towards Natalie, but she unleashed a large telekinetic wave that knocked them both down.

"Did you feel that?" John asked Derek as they perused through a menu.

"Feel what?" Derek asked.

John grabbed Derek and teleported to a location close to the power he felt. As he realized that they were teleporting into a crowded restaurant, John stopped the materialization process and zipped to the rooftop, where he and Derek finally materialized. John turned around and saw Natalie crushing Russell, Darnell, and Janie in a telekinetic hold.

Derek teleported to Natalie's side and knocked her down with a telekinetic punch. John followed suit.

Natalie tried to retaliate and unleashed another telekinetic burst, this time towards Derek and John. The burst knocked Derek down but fell apart and disbursed around John, leaving him unaffected.

"I see he's made you into even more of a freak."

Russell, Janie, Darnell, and Derek recovered and surrounded Natalie.

Natalie looked around. "I'll handle this later. By the way, thank you, John," Natalie said before she teleported away.

"Oh, man," Russell said. "When did she become so powerful?"

"I don't think that's what happened," John suggested. "That's not more power, just a better use of powers."

"Are you three okay?" Derek asked the Refuge TPs.

Russell looked at his teammates. "We're fine."

" _John!_ " someone suddenly broadcast.

" _Morgan?"_ John thought. " _What's wrong?_ "

" _I've been trying to call Jed._ "

" _He's in a conference call with the Department of Defense._ "

" _My water broke._ "

" _Hang on, I'll be right there._ "

" _No, it's okay. I'm packing some things now, but I needed you and Jed to know. I'll meet you guys at the hospital._ "

" _That's not necessary, Morgan. I can take care of this._ "

" _I can manage. Don't worry about me. Just let Jed know and meet me at the hospital, okay?_ "

" _Sure. See you soon._ "

"Everything okay?" Derek asked John.

"Yeah, we're going," John abruptly said. He teleported himself and Derek back to work, outside of where Jed was taking his call.

"Morgan's in labor," John explained to Derek, as he looked through the window. "Jed sounds like he's wrapping up. I'll wait for him."

"Are you all right?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, of course."

"You seemed a little off."

"I was just thinking about Natalie. There's something different about her."

"She's been training, apparently," Derek commented.

"No, I don't think so," said John. "This is something else. This is something . . . well, not entirely new."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 3

After checking in on Morgan and Jed at the hospital, John teleported to the Refuge and quickly found Stephen, Cara, and Russell, who were discussing Natalie.

"John," Stephen acknowledged.

"Thanks for the help there, buddy," Russell said.

John nodded in response.

"Hey, John," Cara said. "Russell said Natalie is extremely powerful now, but you suspected something else was going on."

"I sensed someone else deep within her," John explained. "He has to be very powerful; he knew how to push Natalie's powers to her limits."

"Any ideas?" Stephen asked.

"It has to be someone you know," Russell suggested. "He thanked you."

"For what?" asked Stephen.

"That's why I came here," replied John. "Someone must have gotten the idea from me to transfer his consciousness into another person. Aside from Jed, Derek and Morgan are the only people in our group who know the full story of my recovery. They didn't tell anyone. Did any of you tell anyone else?"

"Astrid knows," said Stephen. "I'm not sure who she'd tell, but I'll ask her."

"Your mom was there, too," Cara pointed out. "You should ask if she told anyone or had been thinking about it around any Tomorrow People."

"I know it might be a longshot when we consider who might have learned about this telepathically, but I'd still like a list of who knows," John requested. "Then, I want to know who has been accounted for."

Russell looked at Stephen. "Your mom's powerful."

"You think it's Stephen's mom?" Cara asked incredulously.

"No, but I think it's someone in her generation. Natalie called John a freak."

"Why is that important?" John asked.

"You told me a long time ago that when you were a prisoner at Ultra, the Founder called you a freak. I think it's the Founder that's in Natalie."

Cara looked at Stephen. "We never found out what happened after the Founder went into that vortex."

"Did my uncle tell you about the Founder?" Stephen asked John.

"Yeah, but how would he have done this and how would he even have known what I did?"

Cara shrugged.

"So he's looking for revenge?" John pondered. "Starting with Russell?"

"He said I'd be a good start," Russell explained. "The four of us and Astrid were the ones who attacked Ultra and brought him down."

Stephen perked up.

"Astrid was never in the building," Cara told Stephen, trying assure him. "The Founder wouldn't know she was involved."

"Same thing with you, John," Russell pointed out. "You were powerless."

"We need everyone here to be on guard here," Stephen said. "We need to get the word out."

"And he could be in anyone, couldn't he?" Russell asked.

"We'll periodically scan everyone here," said Cara. "It'll just be a surface scan so we don't invade anyone's privacy. We'll scan each other periodically, too."

"Stephen, you defeated the Founder before," John pointed out. "I'm sure you could do it again while he's limited to Natalie."

"Of course," Russell quickly said. "Natalie only beat me, Janie, and Darnell because we were exhausted from playing superheroes."

"Wait," Cara interjected. "You don't think the Founder has his full powers?"

"You did a lot in a normal human's body," said Stephen.

"I had a fraction of my telepathic powers because it went with my consciousness," explained John. "I couldn't even do that much with it until I was near my body and I used it all by tapping into your telekinetic powers. If the Founder's transfer is similar to mine, he'll retain some of his telepathic powers, but that's it. Everything else is Natalie's."

"We'll handle them," Russell proudly said.

"Let me know if you need any help. I'll try to track him, too," John said. He turned to leave, but stopped.

"What is it?" Cara asked.

"Morgan's in labor. Stephen, you might want to check in on your cousin's birth. It'll be a long while, though. The doctor said she's taking her time, but that's apparently normal for a first birth."

John teleported away.

Stephen looked at Cara.

"We'll do dinner out later," Cara said. "This should take priority, unless you want to see your uncle."

"Not yet," responded Stephen. "Let's get Samia, Darnell, Janie, Sam, Christine, and Isaac here. We'll scan them and then the nine of us will scan everyone else."

"We should encourage everyone to be in someone else's company as much as possible," added Cara.

After checking in on Morgan and Jed again, John teleported to work.

"Any updates?" Derek asked John.

"Nope. She's coming along, but it'll still be a while. How are things here?"

"We're keeping an eye out, but we haven't picked up anything suspicious yet. I looked at what Dr. Price had on the Founder."

"Any thoughts?" John asked.

"Aside from revenge, it'd make sense for him to target his old workplace," Derek suggested. "I think we should be monitoring the Refuge up close continuously."

"Are you planning on engaging if he shows up?"

"Might as well. I'm sure the Refuge could handle it, but I might as well do something if I'm there."

"Take Melissa with you."

* * *

Later, Marla returned home and Luca was in the living room watching television.

"Have you finished packing?" Marla asked.

"Almost."

"Save TV for later. Go pack right now."

Luca switched off the TV and dashed upstairs.

In the kitchen, Marla gathered a few canned foods and heard the sound of teleportation.

" _Stephen?_ " Marla thought.

Not getting an answer, Marla teleported to Luca's room. She saw the Founder, who immediately grabbed Luca. He wrapped Natalie's right arm around Luca's neck.

"Hello, Marla," the Founder said.

"Let him go," Marla warned. She levitated a glass bottle.

"Oh, Marla, did you really think that was going to work?"

Marla hurled the bottle towards the Founder's right side, and the Founder extended his right hand to catch it.

"And did you expect that to work?"

Marla suddenly struck the back of the Founder's head with the corner of a picture frame.

"I expected that to free Luca and distract you," Marla said as she telekinetically grabbed the Founder and tossed him over Luca's and her own head into the hall.

" _Stephen!_ " Marla thought aloud.

" _Mom?_ "

The Founder hurled items from an open closet in Marla's direction.

" _The Founder is here at home! Come take Luca!_ "

Marla teleported behind the Founder, put her hands on him, and teleported both away to a mostly-empty storage room in the hospital basement.

"I've been raising two teenage boys alone and managed to keep my house intact. You think I'm going to let you ruin it?" Marla said while hitting the Founder with a blast.

"Feisty!" the Founder commented as he teleported behind Marla and landed a blow to Marla's back. He thought he finally gained the upper hand.

Marla quickly turned around. She landed a punch with her left hand into her opponent's abdomen and used her right hand to land a punch to the face. "This isn't feistiness. It's pleasure at beating you and that face. I hope you both are feeling every hit."

The Founder suddenly grabbed Marla telekinetically and flung her to the ceiling, shattering a light bulb. He tried to keep Marla's body under his control.

Despite the Founder's efforts, Marla freed an arm and hit the Founder with another telekinetic blast, sending him into the wall. She, in turn, landed on the ground with a thud.

Marla quickly recovered and sent the Founder into another wall, and then another.

"You really sold yourself short with that body," Marla said.

"Are you offering yours?"

"Come on. Try it. See how it turns out for you."

The Founder teleported away.

Marla teleported home. " _Stephen?_ " she called.

" _We're at the Refuge._ "

Marla teleported to Stephen and Luca and hugged Luca.

"Are you okay?" Marla asked.

"Yeah," Luca answered. "Are you?"

"I'm fine."

"What about the Founder?" Stephen asked.

"He retreated. I think he's going for Plan B now, but Luca will still stay here."

"Sorry for dragging you into this, Luca," Stephen said.

"It's fine," Luca said, unconvincingly.

"What about Astrid?" asked Marla.

"I'll bring her by later."

"You should bring her in as soon as possible. Even if he's not after her, he could still ruin her on the way to ruining you."

Stephen nodded and teleported away.

"How sure are they that they can beat the Founder soon?" Luca asked his mother.

"They're not," Marla replied.

"Then how long are we staying here?"

"I'm sorry, but until it's safe. I got my work schedule rearranged. I'm working nights now and you'll be here during those hours. During the day, you'll be in school and I'll be nearby."

* * *

Soon, Stephen teleported to the Refuge with Astrid. He set up accommodations for her and then went to Cara's office.

"Astrid's safe," Stephen explained. "She doesn't really want to hide here and neither does Luca."

"I'm guessing the uncertainty of the timing isn't helping."

"No. That's why I'm going to the roof. Maybe I can draw the Founder out."

"You think that will work?" asked Cara.

"I'm the one who beat him. He went after my family first. Since that didn't work, maybe he'll come after me directly."

"I'll monitor what I can," Cara said. "I think Derek is out there, too, with someone I don't know."

Stephen nodded and teleported to the roof of the Refuge. He reached out to no one in particular, hoping that the Founder might pick up on his telepathy.

Across the street, Derek and Melissa kept an eye on the Refuge.

"Are you okay?" Melissa asked Derek when she noticed how distracted he was.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been getting a niggling feeling on and off."

"Do you want to go back?"

"No, I'm fine," Derek said.

"We can't exactly camp here indefinitely," Melissa pointed out.

"I know, but - "

A shot interrupted Derek and suddenly Melissa was dead on the ground. Derek looked around and saw Natalie holding a gun.

"What did you do?" Derek screamed.

"I'm clearing a path," the Founder said. He teleported to Derek's side.

Stephen teleported to the fracas but the Founder immediately hit him and Derek with a telekinetic blast. The Founder quickly put his hands on the sides of Derek's head, causing the younger man to scream.

In another part of the city, John was checking in on Jed and Morgan when he winced in pain.

"What's wrong?" Jed asked.

"Derek is reaching out to me. He's under attack." John teleported to Derek. Just as Cara arrived herself, John knocked the Founder away from Derek.

"Derek!" John cried.

The Founder watched Stephen regain his composure. Seeing all three ready to fight, the Founder teleported away.

John scanned Derek's mind. He looked at Stephen and Cara. "Derek needs help. Would you take Melissa to our office?"

"Of course not," Cara answered.

John teleported himself and Derek to his company's medical center. "I need help! Another TP attacked Derek. I don't sense any cognitive activity."

Two doctors examined Derek while another pronounced Melissa dead after Stephen and Cara brought her in.

"Dr. Jiang?" John asked as he realized the doctors were finishing.

"There's no brain activity. There's nothing. Everything else is fine," Dr. Jiang reported.

"Then what's wrong with his brain?"

"You tell me. Did you sense anything?"

"There is a very powerful TP inhabiting the body of a moderately powerful TP. He attacked Derek's mind."

"Could someone push out someone else's consciousness? That seems to be what happened."

"I don't know," John replied. "I haven't heard of anyone doing it, but that wouldn't mean it's not possible."

"Why attack Derek?" Cara asked. "We though the Founder would go for Stephen."

"Not to sound arrogant, but maybe he thought he couldn't," Stephen suggested. "Like we said before, I beat him. I could probably do it again if he only has Natalie's powers."

John sighed. "Please keep working on him," John said with his hands on his face. "Post some guards while you're at it."

"I'm sorry, John," said Cara.

John teleported out and to the hospital. He walked to Morgan's room.

Jed stepped out. "What's wrong? I can feel you hurting."

"The Founder attacked Derek. I'm not picking up any consciousness from him and Jiang isn't picking up any brain activity."

"There are lots of tests that the medical team can run."

"I know. I'm just worried."

Jed hugged John, knowing that words weren't going to help.

A nurse opened the door. "Mr. Price, your daughter's about to come out."

John broke the hug. "It's about time. Go in."

Jed looked at John, concerned.

"Really, go. Don't miss this because of me," said John while he gave Jed a slight push.

Jed returned to Morgan's side and John teleported to the hospital's roof. John closed his eyes and began to scan the minds of the people around him and worked his way out as far as he could.

Minute, later, Jed and Morgan welcomed their daughter into the world. After cutting the umbilical cord, the doctor handed the girl to Jed and Jed brought his daughter to Morgan's side.

"Hi, there," Morgan quietly said to her child. "It's so nice to finally see your face."

Soon, John picked up a large power signature that he recognized. He teleported to his office, grabbed a syringe, and teleported to a penthouse apartment.

"Hello, John," the Founder said.

* * *

Thanks again for reading and reviewing. I hope Marla wasn't too out-of-character here. She's shown her aggressive side before onscreen. I figured that in this situation, she might be willing to cut loose.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 4

"Who is that?" John asked, referring to a dead body near the Founder.

"The owner of this place. He's inconsequential," the Founder explained. "Don't worry about him."

"What did you do to Derek?"

"He has more potential than Natalie, so I shredded his mind. I wanted to move into a vacant body."

John threw a telekinetic blast at the Founder, knocking him to the ground.

"Now there's the power that'd be really nice to have," the Founder said.

John paused.

"What were you expecting? For me to go after Stephen?"

"Yeah," responded John.

"I can't beat him in Natalie's body. But, if I was in Derek's body, I'd be close enough to yours to get it when you've let down your guard, and I can destroy everyone in your body, starting with Stephen."

John scanned the area, looking for traps and other potential surprises.

"He's really trained you well," the Founder commented. "I think I can do better, and I might as well try, shouldn't I?"

John saw nothing, but could feel a conscious mind exit Natalie's body and head in his direction. He tried to telekinetically push the Founder's mind away from him, but felt the Founder still approaching. Starting to worry, he tried to read the Founder's mind for possible weaknesses and then found himself keeping the Founder at bay. He realized that it took a combination of telekinesis and telepathy to restrain the Founder's consciousness.

Realizing that John was able to resist him, the Founder returned to Natalie's body, which convulsed slightly.

"You thanked me," John suddenly remembered. "When you attacked Russell, why did you thank me?"

"Where do you think we go when we teleport, John? When we do that, we go through Limbo. It's an intermediary step. No one notices because teleportation is instantaneous and lacking control, but you slowed it down. You stayed longer in Limbo every time you delayed materialization, long enough for me to see you and find a way back. The first time I tried to follow you out of Limbo, I failed, but I made a connection with someone who could help."

"Natalie worked with you before," John remembered being told. While he listened to the Founder talk, he slowly moved a syringe into position.

"Yes. A couple times later, I was able to follow you out, and I sought out Natalie. I learned from you that I could enter someone else's body."

Suddenly, John hurled the syringe into Natalie's neck, making her body convulse.

"That won't stop me," the Founder weakly said. "I'll just move into someone else. You taught me how and I'll do it again until I'm strong enough to try you again."

 _Jed, Stephen, Cara_ , John thought. _Open your minds to me. You should get to witness this._

"I can stop you, permanently," John finally said. "I briefly read your mind. You can't do what Roger could. You don't have any options."

The Founder frowned, unaware of what John was thinking.

John held out his arms and the Founder started to scream. Using a combination of telekinesis and telepathy, John forced the Founder's consciousness out of Natalie's body and he moved the Founder's mind into the nearby corpse. He kept his hold on the Founder, letting the Founder die in the dead body.

Natalie started to squirm and regained consciousness.

"You took away my powers?"

"Of course I did," John replied.

"I had no control over what the Founder did! I was violated!"

"I understand that, but you still don't deserve your powers, not after everything you did. You should be grateful that I'm letting you leave. If Jed was here, he'd kill you slowly and painfully."

"Then I'll tell everyone about us!" Natalie warned. "I have nothing to lose anymore. People won't care about me now that I've lost my powers, but they'll start hunting you!"

"That was the wrong thing to say," John coldly said.

A shiver went down Cara's spine as she heard John's threatening tone and Jed smiled.

John approached Natalie and telekinetically lifted her up. He put a hand on the side of Natalie's head and teleported it off her.

John broke the telepathic connection with Jed, Cara, and Stephen and cleaned up the area. After taking at shower at home, he returned to Jed at the hospital.

* * *

Jed hugged John tightly when he appeared.

"Are you okay?" Jed asked.

"I'm fine."

"I have to say, experiencing that was satisfying. I'm grateful you found a way to use our bond like this. Now, come meet Selaine Price."

John approached Morgan and her daughter in bed.

"She's beautiful, despite having Jed's eyes."

Jed playfully smacked the back of John's head and joined Morgan on the other side of the bed.

"I'm still having trouble accepting this," Morgan said. She looked at Jed. "You and I have a baby together. I gave birth to her in a public hospital. No fear, no hiding."

"I told you things are better now," Jed said. He smiled and kissed Morgan.

John watched the family moment long enough to lose track of time and then later teleported to Derek. He closed his eyes and telepathically scanned the largest range he could, looking for Derek. After nearly an hour, he gave up, realizing that Derek was truly gone. John teleported across the room, but delayed materialization. He telepathically scanned a large area, until he reached a familiar mind.

"Hi, John."

Back at the hospital, Jed held on to Selaine while Morgan slept. When the door opened, he saw John and Derek.

"Derek, you're okay," said Jed quietly. "John, you got him back?"

John shook his head. "No, the Founder destroyed Derek's mind. There was nothing I could do."

Jed looked at Derek and raised an eyebrow.

"The Founder said I taught him how to move into another body. Well, he taught me how to knowingly access Limbo. I pulled someone out and put him into Derek's body."

"Jed."

Jed's eyes widened. "Roger?"

"It's me, Jed."

Jed walked over to Roger with Selaine in his arms.

"Is this my niece?" Roger asked.

Jed smiled and nodded. He handed Selaine over to Roger, then hugged him.

* * *

Later, John and Roger teleported to Stephen's office.

"Hey, John. Derek, nice to see you okay."

"Derek's gone," John said. "I went into Limbo and pulled your dad out of there and put him in Derek's body."

"Hi, son."

"What?" Stephen asked.

"When I was dying, I froze time again and entered Limbo. What'd you expect?" Roger said.

"I told you I wanted to thank you," said John. "Well, here's your dad."

Stephen ran to Roger and hugged him.

While Stephen reunited with Roger, John visited someone else in the Refuge. He knocked on an open door. "Hi, Charlie."

Charlie turned and saw the smile on John's face. She ran to him and gave him a hug.

"Are you back?" Charlie asked.

"No, I'm not," replied John, knowing what Charlie meant. He sighed. "Have you ever read a book or watched a TV show or movie that was so good that you wished you could read or watch it again for the first time? You thought it was so good that you wanted that first-time experience again?"

"Yeah," replied Charlotte.

"I think if I got to know you again Charlie, I would like you very much. I think we could be really good friends again."

"Really?" asked Charlie.

"Yeah, maybe it'll be like reading a good book for the first time again. Would you like that?"

Charlie nodded and hugged John again. She laughed when his stomach growled.

"I have not eaten any food in a very long time. How about you?"

Charlie shook her head.

"Would you like to join me for a meal?"

"I want to finish my homework first. It'll just take a few more minutes."

"Yeah, that's important. Do that first. I'll wait."

Charlie ran back to her desk and continued her homework while John waited by her door.

"What you just said, that goes for us, too," Cara said nearby.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked John.

"Just about a minute," Cara replied as she approached John. "You were close with a lot of us. We could be close again. That includes Astrid. I think she could make you happy again."

"I am happy."

"You know what I mean."

"So, how's Russell doing?" John asked awkwardly. "I hope his team didn't get put off by the Founder."

"No, not at all. We had to put the superhero act on hold for a while, but they're planning on going on patrol tonight."

* * *

Morgan eventually returned home with her daughter and the first thing she did was shower. In the living room, Jed cradled Selaine in his arms and John joined him.

Jed put an arm around John. "I will never stop thanking you for bringing Roger back to me."

"I couldn't have done that without you."

"He's with Marla and Luca?"

"Yeah," answered John.

"What's wrong? I know something's been bugging you for a while."

"You told me never to kill. You remind me of that almost as often as you remind me of how proud you are of me."

"Yeah. What you went through after you thought you killed Roger is something I never wanted for you."

"So back at Ultra, when did you decide that's what would happen anyway?"

"When I realized that I couldn't protect even you from the sacrifices we all had to make."

"Jed, I don't feel badly about killing the Founder or Natalie."

"I know what you're thinking and you need to stop it. Your lack of remorse has nothing to do with you. It has all to do with the kind of terrible people the Founder and Natalie were. They deserved their fates and what you told Natalie was correct. If it was up to me, both of them would have suffered before they died. If I was there, they'd have begged you to kill them. This was justice for Roger, Derek, and everyone else these two people hurt or done worse to."

Roger teleported into the room.

"I'll let you two catch up some more," John said as he stood up.

Roger gave John a hug.

"Thank you so much, John. Jed told me that you and Derek were friends. This probably isn't easy for you."

"Actually, this helps," replied John. "I can't bring back Derek, but I can honor him. I think you being in his body is a good way of doing that and he would approve. Jed taught me well."

Roger sat down next to Jed while John left for his room.

"That is how I know you will be an amazing father," Roger told Jed. "On a semi-unrelated note, I think he's more powerful than I was."

"He is. I've been analyzing John's DNA to find out why. I don't think the Founder took away everything., not even with three shots. Even if John registered as a normal human being in every way, I think there was still something there. Add in your powers, and this is the result. I don't think this could have happened with anyone else."

Roger nodded. "Ultra is completely dismantled?"

"Yeah, it's entirely gone now."

"Was Los Angeles a hassle?"

"No, but it took a while."

"What ever happened to Ethan Vaughn?"

"He was still supposed to be running it, but he was gone by the time I got there. He must have found out somehow about the Founder's plan getting ruined."

"He's filthy rich. He has resources to keep tabs on most things and then go into hiding."

"I'm keeping an ear out for him."

"So, you missed dinner the last time I came back from the dead. You can't miss it again."

"When?"

"Tomorrow night. Bring your family with you."

"John?" Jedikiah inquired.

"Goes without saying."

* * *

Instead of being teleported, Jed opted to drive Morgan, his daughter, and John to the Jameson household.

Marla, Stephen, Luca, Cara, and Astrid were already there with Roger when they arrived.

Marla quickly approached her guests.

"I put Stephen and Cara in charge of the final touches so I could hold my niece again," she said.

As Luca helped Stephen and Cara with the final setup, Morgan and Marla bonded over Selaine and Roger and Jed caught up.

John approached Astrid. "Hi."

"Hi, John. How're you doing?"

"I'm fine," John said, smiling nervously.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," John said as he let out a slight chuckle. "I heard you were going to be here and I had a whole speech prepared, but it sounds silly now."

"What were you going to say?"

"Forget that," John replied as he quickly glanced at Morgan and Selaine. "Umm, I was talking to Charlie and I asked if she had a book or TV show that she liked so much she wanted to relive it again for the first time. I compared my friendship with her to that, but I guess that analogy seems lame to someone older."

"No, John. I think it's sweet," Astrid assured, jumping to conclusions in her head while trying to not get her hopes up too much.

"Cara said that I seemed happy when I was with you, and I hope that you were happy, too."

"I was. I really was."

"Well, I was hoping you'd be willing to give us another shot, maybe make some new memories that I can keep. Maybe we can make each other happy again."

Astrid smiled widely. "I'd like that."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"I want you to know, though, that I'm not getting my memories back. I don't want to mislead you on that. But hey, I'm a telepath and you know things about us that I don't know and things about me that I don't know you know. That's a good balance. What do you think?"

Astrid leaned in and kissed John's lips.

"See?" John said. "You knew I'd like that."

Astrid laughed loudly at that remark. "Stephen is still my best friend and nothing is going to change that. I spend a lot of time with him, and that means you will, too."

"I have no problem with that. I assume lots of double dates are in our future?"

"You're really okay with that?" Astrid asked.

"Stephen is important to you. I get that. I assume Cara is, too. I am fine with spending time with your friends and getting to know them again. I just don't want any pressure to be some guy I'm not anymore."

Astrid nodded. "They've accepted that. We all have."

The extended family finally sat around the table and dug into dinner.

"Do you have Derek's memories, dad?" Luca asked.

Jed and Roger both looked at John, concerned that dinner became awkward.

John gave them the quickest and most subtle nod he could.

"No," Roger answered. "There's nothing left of Derek's mind. If there was, I suppose I could access his memories."

"John, does that mean you could have gotten into Uncle Jed's head?" asked Luca.

"Yeah, but I stayed out. I wanted to respect his privacy."

"So, when you go to the bathroom," Luca began.

"I try not to think about it," Roger interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest of the question. "Eat your dinner."

Luca reached for the pepper shaker and the shaker suddenly moved into Luca's right hand by itself.

Activity around the table stopped as everyone looked at Luca.

"Was that you?" Stephen asked Luca.

"It was," Cara and John both said simultaneously.

"You've finally broken out," Jed remarked.

Stephen sighed. "I know you wanted to be normal. I'm sorry, Luca."

Luca looked around the table. On his left was his dad, who seemingly died twice and now after coming back to life a second time, resides in the body of a twenty-three-year-old man. Next to Roger was Luca's mom, who was so good at keeping her powers a secret that Jed didn't even know about them. There was Morgan, the former fortune teller who managed to convince an Ultra agent to love her. There was Jed, the Ultra agent who worked behind the scenes to undermine the Founder of the organization he seemed to lead. To the left of Jed was John, the guy who was caught in an explosion and put himself back together while inhabiting another person's body. Astrid was next to him. She lived in the lair while Ultra hunted her, then marched into war armed only with a scope. Next to Astrid was Cara, his brother's girlfriend who found her voice and her sense of hearing when she found her powers. Finally, on Luca's right, was Stephen the oddest person Luca knows, who floated between an enforcement agency and a rebel base and then got himself killed to find his father.

"I'm not," Luca said.

"Not what?" Stephen asked.

"I'm not sorry. Normal doesn't belong in this family. These powers just mean that I belong here more now. I'm more of a part of it."

Stephen leaned into Luca and kissed the side of his brother's head.

"You'll have a much easier time with this than any of us," Roger said. "I promise."

"We're all here for you, Luca," Cara added.

* * *

Thank you for reading. I should have the next chapter up within a week. The next volume will focus on Stephen, Cara, and Russell. I originally meant to have them feature more in this volume, but it turned out that I needed John to take care of things. To even things out, I had to force myself to remove John from the action. He'll still be there, of course, but not as much. Also, there will be no more body jumping. I definitely wouldn't want to go overboard there. I just needed something to set up John's recovery and a way to bring the Founder back (and figured that while I'm at it, I might as well bring Roger back because I like happy endings).


	9. Chapter 9

Volume 3: Avengers

Chapter 1

John, Astrid, Cara, and Stephen had supper at a quaint diner.

"I really did like it," Cara said. "I don't care that it was marketed towards children. I think adults should watch more children's movies. It's good for the soul."

"Even when they're cheesy?" Stephen asked.

"Especially when they're cheesy," Cara replied.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I watched Kings of Atlantis?" John asked.

"No," Cara answered. "That must have been part of your Ultra life that you kept to yourself."

"I wanted to see it really badly, but Jed wouldn't let me because he had planned a long series of training exercises for teleportation. I wasn't doing well, so Roger snuck me out one night to take a break."

"Did you like it?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, I thought it was great. Jed eventually found out and I got in trouble, but I could tell he wasn't really mad, especially because I was doing better after watching the movie."

"That's what you should do for Luca," Astrid suggested.

"I think Luca's a bit too cynical right now for children's movies," said Stephen.

"How is he doing?" asked John.

"He's doing okay," answered Stephen. "He feels a lot of pressure and it's been really frustrating sometimes, but I think he's getting there."

"He's bonded with Sophie. That's helped them both," Cara added.

A phone call broke the brief silence. "It's Jed," John said.

* * *

At the Refuge, Russell was helping two new breakouts learn how to control their powers.

" _Help me!_ " Russell suddenly heard in his mind. Russell looked around and teleported to the roof.

" _Who is that?_ " Russell thought aloud, vaguely familiar with the mind he felt.

Someone suddenly teleported into Russell, knocking him down.

"Mallory?" Russell cried.

Mallory remained prostrate and fell unconscious, and Russell turned her over to check her.

Eight other TPs teleported to the roof, surrounding Russell and Mallory. Two other people, armed with guns, accompanied the eight. Russell presumed they were regular humans.

"She's got a friend," someone said.

"Another Avenger?" a second person asked.

"Doesn't look like one."

"Who are you?" Russell asked. "What did you do to her?"

In lieu of answering, the eight TPs extended their arms towards Russell to beat him. John, Cara, and Stephen arrived at that moment and together knocked the ten people down.

Sensing the power they were up against, the eight TPs began to teleport away with the two people.

"Stop them!" Russell yelled.

John held on to two of the attackers and prevented them from teleporting.

"What's going on?" Cara asked.

"I don't know," Russell answered. "Mallory teleported in hurt and then these goons showed up. Good timing, guys."

"Jed called me and told me there was anomalous activity here. We all came together."

Another TP arrived, alarming everyone. Stephen and Cara prepared to defend Mallory.

"Wait!" John yelled. "This is Wes. He's one of us."

"Dr. Price asked me to check in and make sure everything's fine."

"How is Mallory doing?" John asked Russell.

"I don't know. She needs help."

"Wes, could you take her?" John requested. "Dr. Moyes is on duty. She can take care of Mallory. I'll handle these two."

Wes handed John several syringes and took Mallory into his arms.

"I'm following Wes," Russell said.

John turned his attention to the two TPs he apprehended and removed their powers.

"Who are you?" Cara asked after the two stopped convulsing.

"Laura Everett and Mike Corbyn," John answered.

"You can't keep anything from us," Stephen warned. "Why were you attacking Mallory?"

Again, the three TPs felt resistance, but John continued pushing until he got answers.

"Their group and the Red Avengers have been battling each other across the Midwest. It's gotten really heated. There are seventeen other Tomorrow People and five regular humans. The ones that escaped will probably return to the others. I'm taking them to our holding cells. Do you remember how to get to our medical center?"

"Yeah, we'll see you there," Stephen replied.

Stephen and Cara teleported to Russell.

"How is she?" Cara asked Russell.

"She's got a head injury, a couple broken bones, and a bullet in a thigh," Russell explained. "The Doctor said Mallory will need time, but she'll make a full recovery."

"That's great, Russell."

Roger and Jed entered the center.

"Did you guys find out what happened?" Russell asked.

"Classic arch-enemy situation," answered Stephen. "The Red Avengers and this group have been battling each other in the Midwest."

"We need to find the other Red Avengers and help them," Russell suggested.

"You can take a few of my people to back you up," Jed offered.

"I'll spend more time at the Refuge while you're away," Roger said. "I'll keep everything moving smoothly there."

"Thanks, dad. I'd like John to come, too."

"No," Jed replied. "If there's going to be fallout from this much activity, I'll need John to help manage it. He can get you to where you need to go, but he won't stay there."

"You don't need him," Roger said. "You'll be fine."

"I'd like to spend some time with Mallory," Cara said. "Maybe I can get more information."

John arrived at the medical center with Astrid.

"How many people are you offering?" Stephen asked Jed.

"I can spare ten people."

"I think this will work better if we all dress up as the Black Avengers," Stephen suggested.

"That's probably a good idea," replied Roger. "The outfits shouldn't be a problem, but do you have extra masks?"

"Yeah, we have a lot."

"I'll see if anyone on staff can make any batons quickly," Jed said.

While Cara probed Mallory's mind and Russell kept both women company, John introduced Wes to Astrid and then re-interrogated the apprehended aggressors.

Stephen summoned seven TPs from the Refuge and they met Wes Jarvis and nine other TP's that worked for Jed.

* * *

The next afternoon, Cara briefed everyone on her findings.

"Mallory briefly regained consciousness last night and I was able to get more information. The Red Avengers have been facing a group that calls itself the Death Web. Their encounters with the Red Avengers were sporadic at first, with the Red Avengers interfering with their plans from time to time. Eventually, the Death Web became a more cohesive group and went on the offensive. A lot of the fights between the Red Avengers and Death Web have been in Chicago, but they've spread to other areas in the Midwest and Pennsylvania. More and more Red Avengers have been heading to that area to help out."

"Do you know how some of them and Mallory ended up in New York?" Jed asked.

"Mallory was tracking three Death Web members and followed them to western Pennsylvania. She stopped them from robbing a mansion there early yesterday morning. This was supposed to be a big heist and the mansion belongs to a U.S. congressman. Because of the stakes, more Death Webbers showed up and Mallory retreated. They followed. She didn't think she could make it back to Chicago, so she came here."

"Do you have anything to add, John?" Jed asked.

"The Death Webbers live southeast of Chicago, but are most active in the city. That's where we should start. If we're taking the fight to them, we should wait until nighttime. That's when they're most active."

"People from the Refuge, will you be ready?" Jed asked.

The TPs recruited by Stephen, Cara, and Russell voiced or nodded their agreement.

"Let's meet back here at 9:30 tonight," Jed said.

* * *

That evening, John and Astrid had dinner at the Refuge with Charlie.

"What do you think of Wes?" John asked Astrid.

"I like him."

"I'll introduce you two someday," John told Charlie.

"What does he think of me?" Astrid inquired.

"He likes you, too, not that you needed his approval."

"I know, but it's nice that there won't be any awkwardness."

"It must be nice that Stephen and I are getting along, then," John commented.

"You two have always gotten along," replied Astrid.

John raised his eyebrows.

"You know," Astrid quietly said.

"Yeah, and I think on some level, there was a small part of Stephen that wasn't bothered by me forgetting Cara."

"I don't think that's true," Astrid countered.

"Subconsciously," John added.

Astrid thought for a few seconds.

"We are really fine, now. It's all good," assured John. "It's all in the past."

"When it came to us dropping the thing about you getting your memories back and coming to the Refuge, I guess Stephen wasn't the toughest sell," Astrid admitted.

"But it's fine now," John repeated.

Astrid smiled. "Yes."

" _John!_ " Roger telepathically cried from another part of the building.

"I'll be back," John told his dinner mates. He teleported to a training room and saw Roger with Luca and Sophie.

"I think I've been going about this the wrong way," Roger said. "I didn't have a better alternative before, but now I do."

"What's going on"? John asked.

"Telekinesis practice. I'm trying to teach precision," Roger said as he put a pen in John's shirt pocket.

Roger backed away and addressed two TPs who were putting items in their bags.

"You wrapping up?"

"Yeah."

"All right, good. This will be safer empty. Now, Luca, Sophie, focus all of your energy and hit John with a blast head-on."

"What?!" Luca cried.

"It's okay. No offense to the two of you, but you can't hurt me," John assured Luca and Sophie, knowing what Roger had planned.

Sophie and Luca both unleashed telekinetic energy at John.

The energy dissipated around John, leaving him unaffected.

"How are you doing that?" Luca asked.

"I didn't do this before?"

"I don't know."

"Stay focused," Roger said. "Keep doing that, but now look at the pen in John's pocket. Focus on the pen."

"I can feel a change," John reported.

The telekinetic field began to narrow a small amount.

"Great," said Roger. "John hold the pen out to your side. Sophie and Luca, follow the pen."

Everyone complied. Luca and Sophie kept their attention on the pen, directing telekinetic energy towards it.

John and Roger both noticed the field of telekinetic energy slightly shift towards the pen.

"Good," responded Roger. "Now, focus on the tip of the pen."

The telekinetic field narrowed again, though it was still large relative to the pen.

"Great job, guys," John said. "This is a good start."

"All right. That worked. Let's call it a night and do this again soon," said Roger. He sent John a thought.

John telekinetically hurled the pen at Luca and then shattered it, sending ink flying out.

Sophie and Luca watched time slow down around the pen. Luca turned around as he feared the ink would stain his face, but then he saw that the pen and ink had stopped entirely.

"Am I doing that?" Luca asked.

"No, I am," replied John.

"I wanted to see if you had that in you yet, son. It's fine if you don't or never will. Let's focus on the first three Ts first."

John cupped the ink and pen in a telekinetic bubble and let time resume in it. He then teleported the pieces into a trash can.

"I won't be in Chicago long, so let me know if you need me again."

"Thanks, John," Roger replied.

"Nice job, guys." John teleported back to dinner.

"They're going to try that again when you least expect it," Sophie told Luca after Roger left.

"I know," Luca replied, shuddering at the thought.

"How are you holding up otherwise?"

"I'm fine. I'm around so many Tomorrow People that it was easy to accept being one. I know you and almost everyone else had a hard time with that."

"But . . .?"

"My family is so powerful except Uncle Jed, but he trained John."

"Cara said that I need to go at my own pace and not worry about anyone else. That includes their expectations. You should take the same advice."

* * *

Later, ten TPs from the Refuge, including Cara, Stephen, and Russell, joined John and ten of Jed's other TPs, including Wes. All the TPs wore black shirts, pants, boots, and masks.

"Everyone ready?" Jed asked.

Most of the TPs murmured affirmatively.

John exhaled sharply. "I've never done this with so many people before."

"It's okay, John. It you lose anyone in Limbo, you should be able to save them later."

"What?!" Isaac from the Refuge exclaimed.

Before anyone else could react, John teleported the other TPs and delayed materialization. Everyone looked around where they landed.

"Where are we?" Samia from the Refuge asked.

"This is Limbo," John explained. "It's where we travel through when we teleport."

The area around them seemed to move rapidly. Houses, bridges, and tunnels zipped by.

"Are we moving or is the landscape moving?" Russell asked.

"We are. I'm taking us to Chicago."

"We're here," John eventually announced. "The Death Web generally travels as a group. Lately, the Red Avengers have, too. In here, I can detect teleportation. If I notice any mass teleportation activity, it'll probably be one of the two and I'll take us there. I just hope we won't have to wait long."

The group waited in Limbo patiently while John monitored teleportation activity.

"So," John said. "Can anyone recommend any soul-refreshing children's movies for cynical teenagers?"

A large burst of teleportation energy behind the group caught John's attention and he turned around.

"Is that one of the groups?" Stephen asked.

John sensed another large burst.

"Yes, and that's another," John said. He resumed the materialization process and everyone appeared on a rooftop. They saw five Red Avengers battling Death Web.

"Want some help, Avengers?" Russell yelled. "Everyone attack anyone in casual clothes!"

Against twenty-six other TPs, the eleven Death Webbers were easily outmatched. Seven managed to teleport away. Three others were knocked unconscious or too weak and one's teleportation was inhibited by John. John slammed that TP to the ground, and powers were stripped from the four Webbers.

"Russell?"

"Talia!" Russell advanced towards Talia and gave her a hug. "We heard about Death Web and came to help."

Talia looked at the group from New York.

"And I heard about Avenger activity in New York. I didn't expect there to be so many, or to get to meet you all."

"We came together specially for this."

"I'm heading back to New York," John said. "Contact me if you need anything and good luck." John soon reappeared in Jed's office.

"Everything go well?" Jed asked.

"So far, so good," replied John.

Soon, Jed received a call.

"Dr. Price!"

"Senator Kelsey, good evening."

"I'm here with Congressman Hardy."

Jed steeled himself, immediately understanding the reason for the call.

"Dr. Price, I thought I was hallucinating when I saw people teleporting around my house in Pennsylvania. Now, I find out that the X-Men are real and you're running operations to police and train them!"

"Yes, Congressman. My organization is doing good work and providing valuable manpower to the U.S. Armed Forces."

"But your operations are in New York."

"Yes, sir," Jed replied.

"What are you going to do about activity around my district?"

"Well, I have an idea, but I'm open to any ideas that you might have."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 2

The Red and Black Avengers took the four apprehended Death Webbers to a remote base. Russell briefed the Red Avengers on Mallory's condition.

"That's a relief," Talia said. "There's a rumor that some Tomorrow People have developed the ability to kill."

"It wasn't naturally developed," Stephen explained. "They were given some sort of chemical formula. Anyway, those TPs have been taken care of."

"And the formula?"

"It's all gone," Stephen responded.

"Dr. Price is probably the only person left who has the resources and data to recreate the formula," Wes explained. "He's not going to allow it ever again."

"That's good, but those TPs can still do a lot of harm," Samia said. "Besides, they have human members. How many did John say there were?"

"Five," Cara explained.

"There's a push to recruit more," said Talia.

"Great," commented Russell. "So, who wants the privilege of digging into those guys' heads?"

Eyes wandered around the room.

"John said to trust you," Wes told Cara. "But if you trust any of the Red Avengers, we will, too."

"You and me, then," Talia said to Cara. "Two people can work together and push through the distractions. Three could be a crowd."

"I think we should interrogate all of them. That might help us fill in any blanks and give us additional context."

"I guess it's settled, then," Stephen declared.

Talia and Cara spoke with the first Webber.

"Elise, right?" Talia asked. "I think someone called you Elise."

"You must be disappointed that you don't have any humans who can kill me for you."

"We're not interested in killing anyone," Cara said.

"You're going to have to be if you plan on surviving our war."

"There doesn't need to be a war between us," Talia countered.

"You're standing in the way of our progress," said Elise. "Your group is the antithesis of what we stand for."

"Jewelry is that important to you?" Talia asked.

"It's more than that," Cara realized.

Elise spit at Cara, but Cara successfully dodged it.

"Tomorrow People are supposed to exercise discretion," said Elise. "How do you think the public will react if they found out about a secret and dangerous subspecies living amongst them?"

"But burglary is okay?" Cara asked.

"We only take what we need. We aren't gallivanting around, playing superhero and risking exposure."

"You do not get to judge us," Talia said. "Now, where is everyone else? Where are you based?"

Knowing that Cara and Talia would try to read her mind, Elise started thinking of doors closing. Cara remembered another name she heard during the fight.

"Elise," Cara began. "Whatever you do, don't think about Tanya."

An image of Tanya suddenly hit Elise's mind.

"Where is she?" Talia asked.

* * *

In New York, Jed talked to John and Roger about his phone conversation with Congressman Hardy.

"There's been diminishing marginal returns from the Tomorrow People we've sent to the Department of Defense. The department is still keeping the TPs limited to the most classified of missions and they just don't need that many anymore. We agreed that fifty-three TPs will return to the U.S."

"I was going to tell you that Yuri Ellis and Sandy Eaton were ready to for combat," John said.

"They'll stay here, along with the other seventeen TPs we've approved," Jed said. "I'd like to have two experienced TPs leading operations in each state and two to four other TPs working for them."

"I think there might be enough interest among the TPs in the Refuge to help get you those numbers," said Roger. "You will need them."

"Stephen is still sort of a homing beacon for new breakouts," said John. "The effect is a lot stronger when he's around other TPs. That'll keep New York more active and other areas less so."

"Good," Jed said. "I know the Midwest situation is anomalous and it's good that it will remain so. We've been handling TP activity well enough along with the Refuge that New York doesn't need another branch. Washington, DC should get its own, and the branches in Maryland and Virginia will be located around Baltimore and Richmond. There'll be less overlap that way."

"I'll talk to some people at the Refuge," said Roger. "When can we expect the fifty-three back?"

"My contacts want everything set up as soon as possible. The TPs are packing as we speak."

* * *

In Chicago, Cara and Talia interrogated another Death Webber.

"And what's your name?" Talia asked.

"Eric."

"Good," Talia said. "Thanks for being cooperative. Good things happen when you're cooperative. Just ask Elise and Frank. They helped us and now we're treating them better."

"Tell us about the compound in Pittwood, Illinois," Cara said.

Eric kept his mouth shut and his mind clear.

"Come on," urged Talia. "We know so much already, you might as well tell us the rest."

"Your group hates the Red Avengers," Cara began. "You think they're too open about their powers. Who is behind all that hate? Who wants all that jewelry?"

Eric suddenly looked up.

"You know nothing," Eric stated. "They told you hardly anything."

"And what is it that we don't know?" Cara asked. She began to pry deeper into Eric's mind.

"It's just a matter of time before we know everything, so just spill it," Talia said.

"What's the Divine Psyche?" Cara asked, hearing the name in Eric's head.

Eric grimaced, trying harder to clear his mind.

"Tell us about Divine Psyche," Talia told Eric.

"Ethan Vaughn," Cara read.

* * *

Soon, the Avengers spoke with Jed, John, and Roger on the phone.

"There's a compound in Pittwood, Illinois," Talia explained. "It's a quiet and rural area. They call the compound the Divine Psyche."

"We're not sure, but it might be a religiously oriented cult," said Cara.

"Any idea who runs it?" Jed asked.

"Someone named Ethan Vaughn," answered Talia.

Roger and Jed looked at each other.

"That name sounds familiar," John stated.

"You guys know him?" Stephen asked.

"He's the TP who led the Los Angeles branch of Ultra," explained Roger.

"He disappeared after Stephen defeated the Founder," Jed added. "I've been looking for him since."

"That explains some of what Elise said," Cara realized.

"So how does religion fit into this?" John asked.

"We're not sure yet," Cara answered. "Pittwood is sparsely populated. There probably aren't many TPs coming from there and the residents would have no clue what's going on."

"Hopefully, no one has a clue," Jed said.

"Maybe the Divine Psyche is conning people in that area into thinking there's something religious about our powers," suggested Talia.

"That also could explain their attitude against exposure," said Cara.

"That seems really farfetched," Wes said.

"I wouldn't be too surprised that Ethan did something like this," Jed explained.

"The intent doesn't really matter," said Stephen. "We know where the compound is and we're ready to take out the Death Web. "

"If they are exposing normal people to TP powers, we need to identify these people and make sure they don't talk," John said.

"It looks like you'll have more work to do after you take care of Death Web. Keep us posted. On another note, the federal government wants us to monitor TP activity more thoroughly across the country. To that end, we're establishing field offices in all fifty states that will do what we are currently doing in New York with respect to policing TP activity."

The Avengers started to eye each other, some with skepticism.

"If any of you Red Avengers are interested in joining our Midwest locations, let us know."

Some murmurs started.

"Doctor Price, what can we expect from Ethan Vaughn?" Wes asked, trying to minimize the awkwardness. "How powerful is he?"

"He's very powerful, but he won't be a match against all of you."

"We'll keep you updated," Cara said.

"Thanks," responded Jed, who then ended the call.

"I'm just going to cut to the chase," Talia began. "No offense to anyone, but I want to speak with the Black Avengers, so if you aren't a Black Avenger or a Red Avenger, would you give us some privacy, please?"

Jed's TPs gradually left the room.

"It sounds like Price is starting Ultra again," Talia told the Black Avengers. "He's gaining a lot of administrative power."

"I understand how you're feeling," Cara noted. "We had our doubts about his new organization, too, but it turned out fine so far."

"On the plus side, it sounds like we might have jobs," a Red Avenger named Jeannie stated. "If we worked for him, we'd be able to keep things in check, make sure that things are done right."

"My dad is there," Stephen said. "I trust him to keep this from turning into Ultra, but having Red Avengers in control in some states will definitely help."

"It sounds like we need to join him," Talia concluded. "We'll talk to him about this later. Tonight, we should check out the Pittwood compound. Tomorrow, we'll go on the offensive."

* * *

After multiple teleportation jumps, Russell, Samia, Jeannie, and Wes arrived in Pittwood. Telepathic scans led them to a large building and a large basement. While on the roof, they saw many people milling around it.

"Oh, boy, they're talking about angels," Wes realized as he read the minds of normal humans.

"Talia and Cara were right," said Russell. "These people think that Tomorrow People are holy messengers."

"All these humans know about Tomorrow People," Wes said.

"And they get jewelry from the TPs as an added incentive," Samia learned.

The mind reading suddenly stopped.

"I'm not getting anything anymore," Wes realized.

"Something's wrong," Jeannie suggested. "We need to go now."

The four TPs found themselves unable to teleport and Wes quickly took out his phone and called John.

Ethan finally made his presence known. "It's the D-chips. I took a lot of technology with me when I left Ultra. I had them activated after I teleported up here."

Four people with guns joined the TPs on the roof.

"These are my aides," Ethan explained. "They're normal humans so if you don't do what I tell you to do, they'll kill you."

One of Ethan's underlings approached the Avengers.

"Gabrietta, inject them," Ethan ordered.

"No, don't take away my powers," Jeannie pleaded.

"I won't. I have something else in mind."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 3

"Wait, how do you know this?" Cara asked.

"Wes called me," John answered. "He couldn't talk, but I heard everything until Ethan found the phone."

"We need to go now," Talia said. "Who knows what they'll do them? Do we have any way to counteract the D-chips or the suppression cuffs?"

"No," Cara replied.

"We can't go in yet," Stephen pointed out. "We could handle the Webbers if the D-chips are turned on, but those normal people still have guns."

"A small electromagnetic pulse will knock out all the power in that area," suggested Jed. "That would give you some time to handle this, but depending on the power system they use, it might not be too much time."

"Do you have something lying around that will create that pulse?" Stephen asked.

"No, but I'm sure someone in Washington, DC does."

"John, did you learn anything about the group while you were on the line?" Cara asked.

"Not much. There was a lot of talking in the background. I think I picked up some religious references, though."

"We might have been right," Cara realized.

"We will find out," Stephen said.

* * *

John had a meeting with a group of TPs that Roger recruited from the Refuge while Jed make a couple calls. Jed soon pulled John out of the meeting.

"Do you remember Colonel Black with the Army?"

"Yeah."

"She can lend us an EMP generator prototype," informed Jed. "It's been tested, so it should do the trick. Teleport to her and then take the generator to the Avengers."

"Okay."

"John, I know what you're thinking, but you need to come back as soon as possible. After you finish talking to the Refuge recruits, I need you to help Roger scout potential locations for offices."

"You can't be serious, Jed."

"John, as your boss, I'm telling you to delegate responsibilities to other people. Trust the Avengers to handle this situation. You don't have to do everything. You shouldn't have to."

John waited a couple seconds before nodding.

"All right," said Jed. "Teleport to the Pentagon and Chicago and come right back. The new recruits are already waiting for you."

John complied and soon arrived in Chicago.

"Here's a picture of Ethan that I got from Jed's computer. Here are two keys that should unlock the suppression cuffs. The woman at the Pentagon gave me two generators just in case," John told the Avengers. "If it didn't already occur to you, you should leave your watches and cell phones here."

"You're not staying?" Cara asked.

"I can't. I have new recruits waiting for me and Jed wants me back as soon as possible. Roger pitched the idea of this new initiative to some TPs he knows at the Refuge and a lot were interested."

" _John, some of these Avengers are worried that this outreach is a step towards bringing back Ultra,_ " Stephen thought to John.

" _What about you? What do you think?"_

 _"I'm giving you and my dad the benefit of the doubt."_

 _"Thanks."_

 _"A part of me wonders, though, if this was somehow Jed's long endgame."_

 _"If you're not 100% sure about this, you should join and monitor it from within."_

"Yeah, that's what we actually decided," Stephen said aloud.

"Great minds and all that," responded John.

"Any chance you can take us to Pittwood on your way back to New York?" Cara asked.

"Sure."

* * *

John and the Avengers arrived close to the Divine Psyche compound.

"It'd be really great if you could stay," Cara said.

"I don't want to lie to Jed," John replied, half distracted. "However, I did just locate Ethan. If I just inhibit his powers, I could still say I wasn't really part of the attack."

"Any chance you could do that to more of them?" Talia asked.

"Sorry, but this takes a tremendous amount of effort. I could do this to two weaker TPs together, maybe three on a good day, but Ethan's good. Wes and Russell are in the basement, towards the rear."

"I'll get the suppression cuffs off them," Talia said.

"Other Avengers, focus on the TPs, but keep an eye out on the humans," Stephen ordered.

"Stephen and I will take out Ethan first, then focus on the humans," Cara added. "Talia will join us while Russell, Wes, Samia, and Jeannie corral the normal human followers."

"Everyone ready?" Stephen asked. After a few seconds, he activated an EMP.

"Let's go!" Talia yelled.

Stephen and Cara teleported to Ethan. Cara slammed Ethan against a wall using her telekinesis and Stephen injected him with a shot to remove his powers. Cara shoved Ethan against another wall.

Cara detected someone behind her ready to kill. She quickly turned around and aimed a telekinetic burst, but Stephen already blasted the gunman away. Cara teleported behind the gunman and knocked him out.

Stephen returned to Ethan and found the control for the D-chips.

Meanwhile, Talia teleported to the captives and removed the suppression cuffs.

"We have normal human beings here," Talia said. "The ones without weapons need to be evacuated."

"They think that Tomorrow People are holy," Jeannie informed Talia. "The guy in charge has been claiming that our powers are miracles."

"We'll use that to our advantage," Wes suggested. "Convince them that we're helping them."

"We can't take advantage of them!" Jeannie said. "They are innocent and misled."

"Wes is right," Samia countered. "We need to get them out safely and quickly. Playing the part will let us do that. We'll straighten things out later."

Talia looked at Russell.

"Don't look at me. I'll go with the majority. Whatever we decide to do, though, we need to remain anonymous. We're going to have to deal with the fact that normal humans know about Tomorrow People. It'll be easier if they don't know who we are."

"Our priority is their safety," Talia said. "Get them out by whatever means you need."

The TPs teleported back to everyone with masks on and used their telepathic powers to differentiate Death Web from their followers.

Jeannie appeared by two women.

"Let's go, ladies. You really don't want to be here right now."

Jeannie wrapped her arms around the women and teleported them down the road.

"We really should have designated a safe place," Jeannie commented.

Samia soon arrived with two humans. "I suppose this is as good a place as any?"

"Who are you?" someone asked.

"What's going on?" asked another person.

"You've been deceived," Samia responded. "Ethan Vaughn is a bad person. Whatever he's planning, it's bad for everyone, including you."

"Stay here," ordered Jeannie. "We're bringing more people here out of harm's way."

" _Do you feel odd?_ " Samia telepathically asked Jeannie.

" _A little, but I'll worry about that later._ "

Samia and Jeannie returned to the compound and ran into Russell.

"Where did you take the people?" Samia asked.

"The edge of the backyard. This property is huge. Wes is moving people there now, too."

The other Avengers continued to battle the Death Web, eventually defeating them and stripping their powers.

"Where are the followers?" Cara asked.

"Outside," Wes answered. "There's a group in the backyard and another down the road a bit."

"We need everyone back here," Stephen told some of the TPs. "Everyone needs to be accounted for."

Wes, Jeannie, Russell, and Samia teleported the humans back to the compound, where the Death Web had been restrained.

"Wes, could you let John know what's happened?" Cara requested. "We'll need him to take the Death Web back to New York."

Stephen and Cara turned to address the human followers and Ethan took the opportunity to finally make his move. He telekinetically blasted Cara and Stephen onto the ground.

"Whoa!" Russell cried. "I thought you lost your powers!"

Seeing Russell advance, Ethan knocked him away, too. "Listen to me!" Ethan cried to the humans.

Cara interrupted Ethan by teleporting behind him and kicking his knees, making him fall to the ground. She grabbed Ethan's arms and twisted them behind his back.

Ethan broke free momentarily, until Cara slammed him into a wall and injected him with another serum to strip his powers. Ethan convulsed again and was soon still.

"What's going on? What have you done?" a follower asked.

"This guy has been lying to you," Stephen responded. "We came to save you from him and bring down his organization."

"He's been helping us," a follower commented.

"And hurting others," Cara interjected. "He's a bad guy who's been manipulating you."

John arrived at the compound and surveyed the area.

"I had to give Ethan two shots," Cara told John. "I'm not detecting anything from him anymore. Can you?"

"No," John answered after a moment. "Two shots did the trick."

A few human followers approached Cara as John prepared to teleport the Death Web away.

"Are you our holy messenger now?" a human asked Cara.

"What?" replied Cara.

"Will you give us powers like Ethan did?"

"What?" asked John.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 4

"What do you mean he gave you powers?" Stephen asked.

"In his presence, we have been blessed with the powers of teleportation and telekinesis. Eddie said he once teleported twenty feet."

Cara glanced at John, who slightly shook his head.

"You're not a Tomorrow Person," said Cara.

"No, but by his power, Ethan let us become Tomorrow People."

"That's impossible," responded Russell.

John read Ethan's mind while Cara read the human's.

" _I'm sifting through memories_ ," Cara thought to Russell. " _You can tell as well as I can that it happened_."

"How?" Russell asked aloud.

"We don't understand it," a normal human responded. "We were not meant to explain miracles, just to embrace them and be grateful for them."

"They took it away," Ethan said. "They robbed the Divine Psyche of these gifts and we can no longer share them."

"This is about to get out of hand," John commented. He telekinetically grabbed the former TPs of the Divine Psyche and teleported himself and them away.

"You took away our powers," someone claimed.

"This isn't what it looks like," Stephen responded. "You aren't Tomorrow People. He was lying to you."

"I don't believe it," a different person said.

"So what do you believe?" Talia asked. "Do you think we're evil and here to destroy Ethan?"

An empty bottle thrown at Talia was one person's response. Talia caught it telekinetically before it hit her.

The humans suddenly turned violent and the Avengers teleported back away.

" _I don't want to hurt them_ ," Cara thought to her teammates.

" _Well, they want to hurt us_ ," Russell responded.

" _They're misled_ ," thought Stephen. " _We need to diffuse this without anyone getting hurt, including us._ "

" _I agree_ ," Talia said. " _We can't just leave them like this._ "

" _I have an idea,_ " Cara suggested.

Soon, the Avengers combined their efforts and lifted the humans up telekinetically and kept them suspended in the air.

* * *

In New York, John briefed Jed and Roger on what happened in Pittwood and what he learned in Ethan's mind while all three walked to the cell holding Ethan.

"They never had powers. Ethan read their minds and found out what they wanted. If someone wanted to move an object, Ethan would know and move the object himself and pretend that the follower moved it. If someone wanted to teleport, Ethan would teleport that person."

"He's demonstrated some impressive teleportation skills before," Jed explained. "It doesn't surprise me that he could teleport people like that."

"So what are you doing here?" Roger asked.

"What do you mean?" asked John.

"I thought you'd still be in Pittwood trying to clean up the mess, or at least tell the Avengers what you found out."

"They can manage on their own and we're busy here," John explained.

Jed raised an eyebrow at John.

"I'm delegating," said John. "You told me to."

"Nice choice of words, but I don't believe you. I don't think Roger does, either."

John sighed. "The people there really believe in Ethan and believe that they had TP powers. I didn't want to be the one to crush that."

The trio arrived outside Ethan's cell.

"Jedikiah Price," Ethan acknowledged. "And who are you?"

"I'm not the one you should be worried about," Roger answered.

"That was an incredibly stupid and irresponsible thing to do," Jed told Ethan.

"Ultra's gone," Ethan countered. "Know your place because you don't get to lecture me, unless you want to educate me regarding your protégé here."

"There are other reasons why we should be keeping TPs a secret," Jed responded.

"And that's something you're inconsistent about," Roger added. "You let your inner circle of human followers know, but not anyone else?"

"What were you trying to accomplish?" Jed asked. "I know it's not wealth you need."

"Only a select group of humans know about Tomorrow People," Ethan answered, ignoring Jed. "Otherwise, we follow strict rules against exposure."

"What are you after?" Jed asked.

"Test subjects," John reported. "Ethan's good at distractions, but I'm getting some things from his head."

"You want to test normal humans," Roger realized. "That's why you spend so much effort to get their loyalty."

John looked at Jed and let his mentor interpret the look on his face.

"It's impossible," Jed finally said, mostly towards Ethan. "I managed to give myself powers but it didn't last. Human DNA cannot handle it."

"Then it's just a matter of keeping it," said Ethan. "You already made that vital breakthrough that we need. The next step - "

"There's no next step," Jed interrupted. "You know my credentials. If there was a solution, then someone with my expertise and my resources would have found it."

"There's more," John learned. "What comes after that, Ethan?"

Ethan quickly stood up and ran headfirst into a wall, leaving his interrogators to grimace together. When he realized he was still conscious, Ethan tried again.

John reached out and grabbed Ethan telekinetically.

"That's not going to work again," Roger said. "You're not escaping our telepathy by knocking yourself out."

"No, but that intense pain is a huge distraction," John quietly said. "This is going to take some more time."

"What did you suspect was happening?" Jed asked.

"His plan was to turn humans into TPs. Even if he has their loyalty for doing so and even if he already has TPs working for him, he's got to have some plans for keeping everyone in line."

"He's going to want to expand," Roger realized.

"Yeah," said John. "He knows it'll be a struggle to keep control over everyone, so he's got something else planned, too."

"Keep working on it," Jed told John. "We need to know what's coming and what could be coming."

* * *

Back in Illinois, Cara tried to explain TPs to the followers.

"There's nothing sacred about our powers," Cara explained.

"There's nothing special," Stephen added. "There are thousands and thousands of us. We're just the next step in human evolution."

"Normal human evolution," said Cara.

Samia and Wes suddenly unleashed their telekinetic powers against the Avengers. Russell and Jeannie fell to their knees, clutching their heads.

"What are you doing?" an Avenger cried.

"We can't help it!" Russell yelled. "They injected us with something."

"How did we forget?" Jeannie quietly asked.

Jeannie then started attacking the Avengers. The distraction caused the Avengers to break their hold on the Divine Psyche's followers and dropped them onto the ground.

The Avengers tried to continue restraining the followers while defending themselves against Wes, Jeannie, and Samia.

"Russell?" Cara asked.

"I'm trying to resist, but I don't know how much longer I can hold on," responded Russell.

Cara and Stephen rushed to Russell's side and peered into his mind.

"There's something in there, some sort of suggestion," Cara realized.

"It's not so strong anymore," reported Russell. "Are you two doing something?"

"Trying," Stephen responded.

"We need more TPs to push against the suggestion," said Cara.

"Get John," Russell suggested.

Stephen looked around, observing the growing conflict that the Avengers faced. "I have another idea."

Stephen stood up and closed his eyes. After concentrating for a few seconds, he let out the greatest telepathic blast he could manage.

"What did you do?" Talia asked.

"We'll find out soon enough," said Stephen. He knelt down again to help Russell.

A couple TPs teleported into the compound, followed by others. Most of them look confused.

"Did you summon them?" asked Talia.

"This isn't the first time I did something like this," replied Stephen.

"Okay, crash course!" Cara yelled towards the TPs. "You are Tomorrow People. There are lots of us. One of the things you can do is read minds. You might have done so before, so read this guy's mind. Reach out and think about what's in there."

More TPs teleported into the compound. Talia corralled them the same way Cara did to help Wes, Jeannie, and Samia while still trying to keep them and the followers at bay.

"Do you feel anything you haven't felt before?" Cara asked three TPs that were helping Russell.

"That's relative," someone replied.

"Do you feel resistance?" asked Stephen.

"Yeah."

"Push against it. Imagine holding out your arms and pushing."

"What about me? I've never done anything like this before. I didn't even know I could."

"Just think about Russell's mind," Cara explained. "Think about him and imagine his brain and opening a door."

Russell gradually felt himself gaining more control. He eventually overcame Ethan's suggestion. He then helped Samia, Jeannie, and Wes.

The followers of The Divine Psyche watched as more TPs teleported into the compound, mostly confused. The number of arrivals finally stopped at 19.

"What's going on?" a TP asked.

"Hi, I'm Cara. What's your name?"

"Havi Mendes."

"You're a Tomorrow Person, like most of us. We have the powers of telepathy, telekinesis, and teleportation," Cara explained.

"I don't understand," said Havi.

"Has anything around you ever seemed to move by itself?" Russell asked. "Have you ever heard anyone else thinking?"

"No."

John arrived in the compound.

"Everything okay?" John asked. "Stephen, I felt your telepathic call."

"I was trying to call as many TPs as I could here," said Stephen. "A couple of them seem to have no idea what's going on."

"It's because you activated their powers," Cara realized.

"He gave them powers?" a Divine Psyche follower asked.

"No, they were always going to be Tomorrow People," explained Cara. "He just jump started it."

"It's not possible to give a normal human powers," said Stephen. "You seem really eager to have them and if I could, I'd try to help, but no one can do that. It's impossible."

"But - "

"It doesn't work that way," Cara added.

One of the followers looked around, mainly at the new arrivals. "Ethan deceived us."

"I'm sorry," said Stephen.

John took everyone to New York, where Jed and Roger briefed the human followers of the Divine Psyche and Cara and Stephen briefed the new Tomorrow People.

John then took the former followers home and returned.

"Do you think they'll keep quiet?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah," John answered. "No one wants to admit to being in a cult with the expectations of getting superpowers. Besides, they're grateful that you set everything straight."

* * *

Two days later, after long discussions between the Avengers, Jed visited the Refuge.

"We'll join you," Talia said. "We'll establish permanent bases for ourselves at your field offices."

Jed smiled. "Welcome aboard."

"You can count on us to help you in New York, but there's something else," said Stephen. "This applies to the entire country's operations."

"What is it?"

"We'll help you and the U.S. government, but on our terms," Talia said. "We want to do this work as Avengers. We think this network should monitor and train TPs, but also help others, too. We want to continue that line of work on a greater scale."

"Semi-autonomously," Stephen added.

"That's possible," said Jed. "I'll take it to my people."

After a lengthy telephone call, Jed briefed Roger, John, and a group of his employees.

"The Avengers Network," Jed announced. "It'll be a combination of our work and the Red Avengers'. Throughout the country, we'll police TPs, train those that need training, and fight crime. This will be the headquarters, with the Refuge being a second base of New York operations that will focus more on crime fighting. We'll share training responsibilities."

"Are the current Avengers going to keep their colors?" asked Rich.

"Yeah," replied Jed. "I don't see a reason to change that."

"You should choose a color for us, too," Wes suggested.

Jed thought for a moment. "Blue, after my daughter's eyes."

"You mean your eyes," said Rich. "It's okay if you want to name them after your own eyes, just be honest about it."

Jed rolled his eyes. "John, please obliterate his mind."

"So," Roger began. "Black Avengers in New York, Red Avengers in the Midwest and some select states, and Blue Avengers elsewhere."

"One big happy family of Tomorrow People," John summarized.

The briefing eventually ended and Jed, Roger, and John were left in the conference room.

"Jed, thanks for reaching out to Stephen. I know you didn't just do it as a practical matter. John told me that you supported the Refuge when they first suggested the Avengers idea. You told them it was a good idea."

"I thought it was time for me to really be his uncle."

* * *

John later stood on the roof, observing the city. Wes joined him.

"So, North Carolina," John said.

"Yeah, I'm going home. I'm going with one of the TPs that Stephen activated in Pittwood. She happened to be visiting Chicago at that time."

"How is she?"

"She'll need some hands-on training, but I think she's got a lot of potential. Ordinarily, I'd be reluctant to leave, but I know you can just teleport to North Carolina in no time."

"Yeah," replied John.

"Bring Astrid with you when you visit. I like her. I'm sure she'd enjoy taking advantage of your teleportation skills, too."

"Yeah," John responded with a small smile. "We talked about this in length and she has a list. I will take her to North Carolina, and lots of other places. I'm picking up something from Jed. He wants me to teleport him here to talk."

Wes nodded and teleported away before John teleported Jed to his side.

"So, fifty states and the capital," John pointed out.

Jed put an arm around John's shoulders. Yes, and I have my family by my side as I take full control of paranormal operations in the country. There's talk about Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa, too."

"What you said to Roger . . ." John began.

"Yeah?"

"None of that would have happened if they didn't stop pursuing me. When they did stop, it was like a barrier broke down. Does Roger know that?"

"Yes, and he's glad that got resolved and that you managed to still become friends again."

"My renewed friendships don't change anything between you and me," stated John.

"I don't doubt that," responded Jed.

"Did it surprise you to learn there were some doubts about you among the Avengers and fears about the next Ultra?"

"No, not at all, and it doesn't matter. I'll prove them wrong. I'll make Roger proud of me."

John looked at Jed and raised an eyebrow.

Jed smiled and hugged John.

* * *

Within two months, the first field offices were set up and ready to be staffed. Cara visited Russell's room at the Refuge, where Talia was.

"There's going to be a conference call in a few hours with Mallory," Talia was telling Russell. "She's giving an update on Ohio. Let's leave after that."

"Watch out, New Jersey," stated Cara. "Do you need help with the rest of your stuff?"

"Nope," Russell answered. "We got it covered, but thanks."

"We'll miss you," Cara said.

"I'm just a few jumps away. That's why I chose Atlantic City over Las Vegas. I promise I will visit often."

"To replenish your money after you go bankrupt?"

"Don't worry," said Talia. "I will keep an eye on him and the two of us will actually do work there."

Stephen, meanwhile, visited Jed. They watched as some of Jed's employees cleaned out their desks or offices and readied for transfers.

"You're the national authority on Tomorrow People now," Stephen pointed out to Jed. "If we ever go public and someone creates a federal position to manage us, you'd be first in line."

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Was that your plan all along?"

"Honestly?" Jed asked.

Stephen nodded.

"I just wanted to do right by your dad. That's all I ever wanted. That's why I picked right back up after Ultra fell. I wanted to promote Tomorrow People in his memory. The size of all this is a very big surprise. A very pleasant one, but still a surprise."

Roger teleported in.

"John and Cara are bringing two new breakouts to the Refuge," reported Roger. "John has to come back here to help with the transitions. Can you help the new TP? Her name is Jenna Bassel and she is nineteen years old."

"Of course. Are you going to be home in time for dinner?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah. Our real estate agent in North Dakota is faxing over a ratified contract soon and we'll proceed with operations there, but that won't take long."

Roger gave Stephen a soft pat on a shoulder before the latter teleported to the Refuge.

Jed walked over to a map of the United States and colored in North Dakota. He stepped back and Roger stepped forward to his side and put an arm around Jed's shoulders.

Jed looked at Roger and smiled, before returning to the map.

The brothers watched in silence as their work continued to come together.

* * *

And that's the end. Thank you all very much again for reading my story and providing helpful and encouraging feedback. I might be back with another story or two in the distant future. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the great stories that are being posted here.


End file.
